Nineteenth Century Twins
by Yamaha-117
Summary: An accident with the pocket watch strands Elena in 1864. She must deal with not only Katherine, but younger versions of the Salvatore brothers. When the time comes to choose, what will she decide? Past Damon, or present Stefan?
1. Fight or Flight

**Author's Note: This fic is co written by forever-ami92 and S K B C. This is our joint account, but we'd love it if you read some of our other stories. We both love The Vampire Diaries, and we hope you all enjoy the story :) This chapter is set straight after Blood Brothers, just after Elena has convinced Stefan to stop drinking human blood. This fic is rated T for the moment, but may change to M in later chapters. **

**Disclaimer: We don't own The Vampire Diaries….although we wish we did.**

**Elena POV **

I drove away from the Salvatores' house to spend what would be my first night at home in a while, feeling more at peace than I had for weeks. I'd done it. I'd convinced Stefan that the right thing for him to do was live.

I had no words to express the relief I'd felt when he'd slid the ring onto his finger, when he'd pulled me towards him and kissed me, hard enough to make me forget the pain of the past few weeks. Things were going to be fine now. It was over. It was all over.

I drove through the forest towards home, lost in my relief at Stefan seeming healthy again, focusing the quiet whir of the engine as I accelerated slightly, wanting to get home.

The next second, however, the whir had stopped, replaced by an unhealthy splutter as the engine slowed. I slammed on the brakes, bracing myself as the car skidded forward, sliding to a halt just before the engine cut.

The impact threw me back against the seat, where I remained for a few seconds, breathing deeply, calming myself. Then I leaned forward and tried the ignition. Nothing. Again. Nothing. I reached into my pocket for my phone, knowing the best thing to do would be call Stefan and ask him to pick me up. As I did so, I couldn't resist a nervous glance around in the dark.

Before I'd left, knowing I should really go home before Jenna noticed me missing yet again, he'd made me promise I would keep safe. Despite the fact that Anna thought the tomb vampires had all left town, we didn't know where they were and one could theoretically jump out at me at any moment. And the only warning I would have was the compass in my pocket.

As the phone rang, I slid the pocket watch that concealed the compass out of the pocket of my jeans, absently running my thumb around its edge. I dug my nail into the side, pulling out the little knob that would have been used to set the time, had it been a real watch.

'Stefan's phone,' Damon answered jauntily. I groaned inwardly. I really did not have time for this right now. The heating had switched off when the engine died, and I was shivering despite my leather jacket.

'Damon, put Stefan on the phone,' I ordered, praying he'd do it.

'Elena! What a pleasant surprise!' came the cheerful, cocky reply. 'Couldn't survive without me for five minutes then?'

'Damon, I mean it. Put Stefan on the phone. I need his help.' I said through gritted teeth.

Instantly, his tone changed. 'What's wrong Elena? Are you OK?' In the background, I could hear Stefan yelling something about wanting the phone.

'Damon, my car's broken down.' I said simply, deciding not to waste anymore time. 'I'm in the middle of the forest, not far from you and I need Stefan to come and pick me up.'

As I spoke, I twirled the little dial on the watch with my thumb, not really concentrating on what I was doing. There was a pause, then a high pitched noise emitted from the watch, and my vision seemed to go fuzzy, then refocus, like a badly tuned TV. I instinctively threw my hands over my ears, letting out a scream before I could stop myself. Both the watch and my phone tumbled into the footwell of the car. I could hear Damon's voice coming out of the phone.

'Just wait there Elena, I'm going to be there in a few minutes….Elena? Elena? What's going on?' He sounded increasingly panicked. Apparently the noise was loud enough to reach him through the phone.

I leaned down to reach for the phone, wanting to tell him what was going on, but at that moment nausea swept over me, and a second later everything went black.

I came to, but something was definitely very wrong. I began to pull myself up, slowly…wait. Why was I lying down? That wasn't right. Where was the car? Had someone pulled me out of it? Why would they do that?

Breathing deeply to ward off my increasing panic, I got to my feet, looked around, then almost fell to the ground again in shock.

I was still in the forest, and it looked vaguely familiar, but my car was gone. So was the road. I was in fact lying on what looked like a crude dirt track. Fear gripping my insides, I spun around, looking for anything I recognised. There was nothing, apart from a load of trees that were no help to me in figuring out my location.

I dived for cover behind one as I heard something coming towards me, instinctively not wanting to show myself until I knew where I was and what had happened. There was something strange about the noise. It sounded like….a horse. But why would someone be riding a horse through the woods just outside Mystic Falls? My body pressed against the tree trunk, I craned my neck in the direction of the noise, straining to see its source in the trees.

**Damon POV **

Dropping Stefan's phone to the floor, I sprinted to the garage. I was in my car, key in the ignition, before Stefan caught up to me, hopping over the side of the car and into the passenger seat before I could stop him.

'What the hell is going on, Damon?' he yelled. 'What's wrong with Elena?'

'I don't know,' I snarled, too worried to even formulate a sarcastic comment. 'As I'm sure you heard as well as I did, seeing as we're vampires and have super hearing and all, she screamed and put the phone down. I don't know anything more than that.'

I reversed out of the garage and sped down the road at at least twice the speed limit. I didn't even want to think about what we might find in the forest. If one of the tomb vampires had come back….

We'd barely been driving two minutes when we saw Elena's car. Well, to be more accurate, almost hit Elena's car. It was sitting in the middle of the road, and Elena was nowhere to be seen.

Stefan was out of the car and searching the surrounding forest before I'd even stopped. Part of me wanted to join him, but instead I approached the car. The keys were still in the ignition, and in the driver's footwell were Elena's phone and…the vampire compass.

If my heart was still beating, it would have stopped in that second. I actually had to clutch the car for support. She'd taken the compass out. Did that mean she thought a vampire was near her? Had one come out of the forest and….?

No. This was Elena. She could defend herself. She would have said something on the phone, she knew I could hear her. No one had hurt Elena. That just wasn't possible.

Not wanting to listen to my own feeble, completely pathetic arguments, I looked down into the footwell, and then reached for the compass, noticing something odd about it. The outside still functioned as a pocket watch, and the little dial on the side that was used to set the time had been pulled out. As I picked it up, I noticed another strange thing. The whole thing was vibrating slightly, and was warm to the touch, the way an electronic device gets hot after long use.

I clutched it tightly. The compass had never done this before. Was it possible something involving it had happened? Was there any possible way Elena could be safe?

I had no idea, but I thought I knew where I could find out.

'STEFAN!' I bellowed, getting back in the car and preparing to go and track down John Gilbert.

**Elena POV**

The noise was coming closer. It definitely sounded like a horse. My heart was pounding painfully in my chest. _I didn't understand. _What was this? Where was I?

A shadowy shape was coming into view. Creeping out from behind my tree in order to get a better view, I crouched down in the shadows. I only had to wait for a second.

A black horse, invisible in the dark except as a shadow, came into view, pulling an old fashioned carriage containing two passengers. As the carriage passed, I could see through the window. The girl closest to me had her head turned away, towards the man next to her. I looked at him and immediately jumped back in shock, slamming into the tree. It didn't matter how different he looked. I could still recognise him, knew without a doubt that it was him.

In the carriage was a younger, more innocent looking Damon Salvatore.

Then the girl turned her head towards me. For a second, her eyes met mine. Then I was running, running away from the carriage as fast as I could.

It had been like looking into a mirror. Her every feature was identical to mine, except there was something cold in her face, something hard that I didn't even want to see again.

I could hear them pursuing me and knew they would catch me. I couldn't outrun the horse, but I had to keep trying. Fight or flight. The most basic of all human instincts. And I knew I couldn't fight the girl in the carriage and win.

I now knew, impossible as it was, what had happened. I was back in the 1800s, with Stefan and Damon before they'd been turned. And…with Katherine.

**Please review as it would mean a lot to us and will really help us get write more chapters :)**


	2. Who Are You?

**A/N: Wow…just wow. There was so much more response than we'd expected and so many story alerts! A big thank you to everyone who reviewed, it really felt good and helped us get the second chapter out sooner. Hope everyone likes the chapter and please, please review it to tell us what you think even if you don't like it – constructive criticism is welcomed. And don't forget, rating may change to M later. **

**Disclaimer: We only own the plot.**

**1864  
Elena POV**

I sprinted away from the dirt road, trying my hardest not to lose to an eye to the low hanging branches. The forest seemed much wilder than it did in 2010, and I wasn't a fan. I'd barely been running for twenty seconds when I tripped over a protruding tree root and went flying, scraping my knee open in the process. _No. _

With an open wound, I'd have no chance at outrunning Katherine. Not that I would have been successful anyway, but a small part of me had hoped her fascination at our looks would prevent her killing me when she caught me until I had time to form a plan. This was nowhere near as likely now that my blood was running down my leg.

I lay on the ground, making as little noise as possible, just listening, then drew in breath slowly. Was it possible? The noises of pursuit had…stopped. Why wouldn't Katherine be chasing me? I swung around sharply, my eyes searching the darkness. She could be anywhere. She could be about to jump out at me.

Knowing it was probably a futile attempt, I snapped a sharp twig off a tree that hung low over my head, wincing at the _crack! _that pierced the silence. I did not intend to go down without a fight. Scrambling to my feet, I backed up against the tree, makeshift stake held high in front of me, and waited. Now, at least I'd have a chance if she attacked.

'But you won't, will you?' asked a little voice in my head. 'You know what happens to Katherine, she escapes from the church and leaves Mystic Falls. She's not going to die now, in this forest.'

I pushed this thought out of my head and continued to wait. Nothing happened. The forest was as silent as a tomb. My breathing slowly began to calm. Maybe she hadn't wanted Damon to see me. Maybe she'd gone back to the town with him and was planning to search for me on her own, later.

The fact that this actually comforted me was so absurd that I stifled a laugh, before venturing away from the tree, caution lacing my every step. I remembered Stefan's words when I'd been stalked by a homicidal vampire.

'_We're predators, Elena. We hunt, we stalk, it's often as exciting as the kill.'_

That could be what Katherine was doing now, biding her time, wanting to scare me before she fed…fear rose up in my chest again, squeezing my heart and constricting my breathing. I stopped, forced myself to take a deep breath, and was about to carry on when something flew out of the dark straight at my face.

I screamed, sinking into a half crouch down and blindly brandishing my stake, but finding nothing but tree branches. Straightening, my heart pounding hard enough to cause physical pain, I turned around to find a blackbird sitting in the tree behind me. I could see a splotch of bright blood red under its wing, and its amber eyes watched me reproachfully.

Just a bird. But I'd made a whole lot of noise, and now I had to move. The stake still out in front of me, I continued, more carefully this time. I now had the strangest feeling I was being watched, but refused to stop. I had to get out of this forest. Then I could work out what the hell I was going to do.

The feeling of being watched didn't diminish as I progressed, attempting to walk parallel to the road, but a few minutes later the trees began to thin and I recognised, with a sigh of relief, that I must be near Mystic Falls.

I had no idea what I was going to do when I got there, but being in the town had to be better – and safer – than wandering around in forests. Even knowing what I knew abut Mystic Falls in 1864.

I pushed these thoughts away as I finally left the forest, only to stop in my tracks in shock. I'd known the town would look different, but this different? The buildings were so small and far between, and there was so much more green than I was used to.

I was so busy taking in the new surroundings that at first I didn't notice the man a few feet in front of me, staring as if he'd never seen anything like me before.

I quickly lowered the stake, although I didn't drop it completely. I wasn't that comfortable here yet. He didn't look any more at ease.

'Miss Pierce!' he gasped. I started, then realised that of course I would be taken for Katherine. 'Why are you wandering around so late on your own? And what on earth are you wearing?'

I looked down at my jeans and leather jacket. Right. 1864. I was supposed to be wearing a long dress and corset. No wonder he looked so surprised. I opened my mouth, hoping a good excuse would come to me rapidly, but was interrupted by a low voice from behind me, muttering words that I couldn't understand, although I recognised the sound of them. A memory sprung up, unbidden, in my mind. Bonnie and her grandmother chanting, removing the seal on the tomb. Not knowing if I would ever see Stefan – or Damon – again. I shuddered again.

I turned around slowly, and wasn't really surprised to see Emily Bennett standing behind me. I recognised her instantly from pictures Bonnie had shown me. The question was, would she know I wasn't Katherine?

Emily stopped chanting, without looking at me. 'Go home, now,' she said, not unkindly, still facing the man. I turned back to look at him, noticing how his eyes had a blank look. He clearly wasn't going to remember this meeting.

Emily took my arm as he left, spinning me to face her, and looked straight at me, her eyes flashing.

'You aren't Katherine,' she hissed. 'Who are you?'

**2010**

**Damon POV**

I hadn't been able to convince Stefan to come with me – he insisted on carrying on with his search of the woods, so I went to the Gilbert house alone, wondering how I was going to talk to John without making Jenna or Jeremy suspicious.

I was in luck. When I arrived at the house, Jenna's car wasn't on the driveway. John answered the door.

'Who is it?' I heard Jeremy calling from upstairs. The kid was taking an interest in something beyond his personal problems. Shocking.

I shook my head slightly at John. He looked suspicious, but beckoned me in, closed the door and yelled 'Just some idiot trying to sell something.'

I tuned out Jeremy's response, heading straight for the kitchen. John followed.

'What's this about, Damon?' he hissed as soon as the door was closed.

I took a deep breath. What I was about to say wasn't going to be fun. In fact, saying it physically repulsed me. But this was for Elena.

'I need your help, John.'

He looked surprised for a second before managing to hide it, his eternal smirk back on his face. He leaned casually back against the kitchen counter, arranging his right arm so that the ring that shone on his finger was in plain view, and simply stared at me.

'And why would I help you, Damon?' he enquired, sounding almost indifferent. 'You killed me once, threatened to do it again, and you still haven't agreed to help me find the invention.'

I ignored this. 'I need to know everything you know about Jonathan Gilbert's pocket watch. If it had another function, besides being a vampire compass.'

'I don't think you understand, Damon,' he said, leaning towards me slightly, his eyes glinting. 'I am not helping you, with _anything,_ unless you bring me that invention.'

I stared at him, wondering if it was possible that someone so evil – not to mention infernally _annoying _– could care enough about his niece to change his mind to save her? Worth a shot.

'It's not for me, it's for Elena.' I said, watching his eyes. 'She's disappeared, and I have to reason think her disappearance may have something to with the watch.'

It was there. I'd seen the fear flash in his eyes, just for a second, when I mentioned her disappearance. Apparently he did care after all. He stood for a second, clearly deciding what to do, resolve fighting against worry for Elena on his face, then sighed.

'Tell me what happened.'

**1864**

**Elena POV**

I stared at Emily, unable to think of any kind of excuse, my mind working frantically to find the words that could save my life. Then, I heard another, familiar voice, approaching us.

'Emily, what's going on? Why are you out here so late?'

I turned around and my heart gave a sudden, painful jump in my chest. A younger looking, human Stefan Salvatore was walking towards us. He stopped short when he saw me.

'Katherine? Why are you dressed like that?' His eyes travelled from my face to Emily's. 'What's going on?'

**The more reviews we get the faster updates will be….hint….hint :)**


	3. Past Acquaintances

**A/N: We've never had so many reviews or alerts this early in a story! Thanks so much everyone for making our day (it's exams at the moment so life is pretty stressful), and, as promised, here's the next chapter. **

**Disclaimer: Not ours.**

**1864  
Elena POV**

I tried to say something, I really did. But the second I saw Stefan's familiar eyes, I couldn't help breaking down. The reality of what had happened washed over me, and I swayed on the spot. _How was I ever going to get back?_

'Katherine!' Stefan sounded alarmed. 'Katherine, what's the matter?' he gripped my arm.

'I…I…' the words just wouldn't come. Even though I knew he wouldn't know me as myself, had never met me, I still trusted him to help me.

'Sshh, Katherine' Stefan stroked my cheek gently, sounding truly worried. I realised the chances of the real Katherine breaking down like this were probably less than zero. 'You're fine, I'm here,' Stefan added gently before leaning forward to kiss me.

His kiss was exactly the same as in 2010, and I felt myself leaning forwards into him, feeling immensely comforted.

A few seconds later, we pulled apart. My illusion of safety was immediately shattered by the sight of Emily, still staring at me. Behinds Stefan's back, she beckoned, looking ominous. I swallowed, hard.

'I'm sorry, I have to go,' I said in a rush, heading towards Emily. I was going to have to explain at some point, and maybe, it occurred to me, she'd be able to help.

'Katherine,' he said. That was all, and it wasn't even my name, but the confusion and hurt in his eyes broke my heart.

'I'm fine,' I promised. 'I just need to talk to Emily.'

She dragged me back to the outskirts of the forest, far enough from the buildings so that we wouldn't be seen. I was so busy trying to decide what to do that I didn't even protest at being pulled back here.

'Who are you?' Emily demanded again, with preamble. I took a deep breath, and decided just to take the plunge.

'My name is Elena…Elena Gilbert,' I saw Emily's eyes widen at my surname, but apart from that she showed no reaction.

Taking a deep breath, I explained what had happened, from the dropping the pocket watch in the car to seeing Katherine in the carriage. I did, however, leave out one possibly important detail – my relationships with the Salvatore brothers, making it sound like I had had no idea who Stefan was, but hadn't wanted to give myself away. No need for Emily to find any more similarities between me and Katherine.

Once I was finished, Emily nodded slowly.

'Do you believe me?' I asked quietly.

She nodded again, looking into my eyes. 'But to look so like her…it's incredible.'

I disagreed heartily with this, but chose not to say anything.

'We'll have to tell her, you know,' Emily said. It was my turn to nod, now doubly glad I hadn't told her anything about me and the Salvatore brothers.

'First, I'll get you some clothes, you can't be seen anywhere like this. Wait for me where you were standing with Mr Salvatore.'

**2010  
Damon POV**

I told John what had happened as fast as I could, and had the meagre satisfaction of watching the colour drain out of his face. Not that I could take any pleasure from his fear, though, now that Elena was missing.

'The journals might be able to help us find out if the pocket watch could do anything besides function as a vampire compass,' he said. 'Wait here, I'll go and get the one where he writes about his early inventions.'

He was back so quickly he might have passed for a vampire. Much as I hated John Gilbert, I had to admit – grudgingly – that in working with me to save Elena, he'd proved himself to be a better person than I'd realised. And he really seemed to care about her.

My feelings of goodwill disappeared when he settled himself at the table with the journal, leaving me with absolutely nothing to do but think about what could be happening to Elena. Something I really didn't want to do. Apparently I also cared about her more than I'd thought.

'And what I am supposed to do while you read that? Wait here and hope that Elena magically materialises in this kitchen?' I enquired sarcastically. I wasn't exactly good at waiting, especially after waiting 145 years for a comet to return, only to have it come to nothing.

I was so absorbed in worrying about Elena that I barely noticed the absence of the usual twinge of pain that accompanied the thought of Katherine.

'You could go and ask Alaric Saltzman if he knows more about that watch,' said John without looking up. 'He's borrowed this journal before, he might remember something. It'd probably be quicker than waiting for me to read it.'

'Don't you already know what's in them? Didn't it ever occur to you to read them thoroughly before when – I don't know – you realised that vampires were real and he _wasn't _a raving lunatic?' I seethed. This was slowing us down.

'I've only skimmed them, Damon. Where's your brother, anyway? Shouldn't he be helping us figure this out?'

Not bothering to reply, I was out of the door before he'd even finished the sentence, and driving to Alaric's house downtown. It was empty. Clearly, luck was not with me tonight.

Growling with frustration, I headed for the only place people in the town ever went to for entertainment, limited as its possibilities for actual entertainment were. The Mystic Grill.

Thankfully, Alaric was sitting at the bar, nursing a drink. I strode over to him, waving the bartender over. I definitely needed some alcohol tonight.

'Damon! To what do I owe the pleasure?' asked Alaric sarcastically, slurring his words slightly. I groaned inwardly. Great. Drunk history teacher was not going to help this situation.

'I need your help,' I said, wondering how many more times I was going to be forced to repeat those words tonight.

'Wait a minute,' he said, downing the rest of his drink and standing up, reaching for his jacket.

'Where are you going?' I asked, completely confused.

'To grab my stake and vervain darts…I'm assuming you want me to stake another damn vampire.'

I rolled my eyes. 'No, actually, I need information from Jonathon Gilbert's journal.'

He dropped back into his seat. 'What?'

'There's no need to sound so surprised…' I said, slightly offended.

'Since when have you ever wanted information?'

I shrugged, acknowledging his point, then proceeded to tell him exactly what was going on.

Worry for Elena clouded Alaric's face as I finished the story, and he kneaded his temples, trying to remember.

'There was something in the diary…' he said slowly, 'about that compass…'

He was interrupted by a cool voice coming from behind us.

'Hello Ric, Damon,'

_No. _

I turned around.

Isobel.

**1864  
Elena POV**

Emily left to get clothes, leaving me once again by the building. I huddled in the shadows, hoping I wouldn't meet anyone else before she returned. However, this wasn't to be.

Barely thirty seconds had passed before I heard footsteps. Turning around, I saw, with a feeling of utter disbelief, Damon Salvatore coming towards me.

'Katherine?' he asked, sounding shocked. 'Why are you out here? And where did you get those clothes?'

Scared and alone as I was, I still couldn't help feeling slightly irritated at all these references to my clothing. Also, I had no idea why Damon thought I was Katherine. He'd been in the carriage, and probably seen me - they had briefly chased me and I still didn't know why they'd stopped.

The answer hit me like a rush of cold water. Katherine hadn't wanted Damon to know about me until she understood herself. She'd probably compelled him to forget what he'd seen. Which meant she was most definitely interested in who I was, and why I was here.

Fear washed over me again, and must have shown on my face, because Damon stepped closer to me. I couldn't help noticing how much more innocent he looked, not so hardened by the pain of missing Katherine.

'Katherine, please, tell me what's going on,' he pleaded. Yes. Damon was pleading. I managed a small smile at the absurdity of it.

He looked profoundly relieved to see me smile. 'Why don't I see you home?' he asked with a flirty grin, looking at me suggestively.

Not sure what to say or do – Emily wasn't back yet and I had to wait for her - I stared at Damon, feeling myself unable to break eye contact. Just like with Stefan, being with him provided comfort, reminding me of home.

He clasped my hand, pulling me out into the light of a single oil lamp that had been left lit outside the building we were currently next to, then stiffened. Grabbing my shoulders and turning me towards him, he examined every inch of my face.

'You're not…who are you?' he breathed, but was interrupted by something flying so close over our heads that I felt it brush my hair. We both started, and then over Damon's shoulder I caught sight of a figure, watching us, an ice cold look on her face.

Katherine.

**You know the drill…we love reviews :)**


	4. Confrontation

**A/N: **As usual, thanks to everyone for the reviews! Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Also, we've used show dialogue in this chapter, in an attempt to keep the plot of 2010 as close to the show as possible. Just a warning :)

**Disclaimer: Not ours. **

**1864  
Elena POV**

Instantly, Damon released my shoulders, turning towards Katherine, who was currently staring at me, eyes glinting.

Having someone who looked exactly like me looking like she wanted to kill me was one of the most terrifying things I'd ever experienced, and I instinctively felt glad of Damon beside me. I had to keep reminding myself he was still human, was a lot weaker than Katherine and would probably turn against me in an instant if she asked him to. He didn't know me. We weren't friends. Yet.

Emily joined the scene, carrying a long dress that a looked very similar to the one Katherine was wearing, and I had never been so happy to see anyone in my life.

Before she could speak, Damon, looking utterly perplexed, managed to stutter out 'She's... she's you... How is that possible? I thought you didn't have any relations?'

Katherine ignored him. 'Who are you?' she enquired, looking me up and down. Some of her hostility seemed to have evaporated now that Damon had released me.

Emily looked completely unshaken by her mistress's presence. She tossed the clothes gently to Damon, who caught them reflexively, a mixture of terror, confusion and curiosity on his face.

'Miss Katherine,' she said gently. 'This is Elena Pierce,' – I tried hard to keep the surprise off my face – 'and she's one of your descendents.'

The words would have sounded ridiculous from anyone else, but said in Emily's soothing voice, they sounded almost reasonable. I racked my brains for a reason why Emily would introduce me as a Pierce, deciding it must be simply to make the story sound more realistic.

Katherine's eyes swept from Emily's face to mine, ignoring Damon completely, though he was now gaping from me to her.

'Explain,' she ordered, her eyes on mine. Surprisingly, she sounded more curious than anything.

I took a deep breath, preparing to start my story again.

'She came using a watch she was looking at at a Founder's Party,' Emily interrupted before I could speak.

Katherine looked annoyed that I hadn't answered, but seemed, thankfully, to accept this story, though I had no idea why Emily was lying about the watch.

'Is this true?' Katherine asked me haughtily. I nodded.

'Who did the watch belong to? ' she asked.

Katherine's eyes were focused on me, but I saw Emily shake her head, almost imperceptibly, out of the corner of my eye.

'I don't know,' I replied hesitatingly. 'I picked it up to get a look at it and fiddled with the knob on the side. Then I wound up here.'

'From what year?' she fired back.

Not seeing any harm in telling the truth here, I answered '2010.'

She stared at me for a long moment, as if considering my story. Then she said simply 'Fine.'

For a second, all three of us gaped at her. Even Emily's constant composure slipped for a second.

'What do you mean?' Damon asked hesitatingly.

'I mean, I believe her.' Katherine was answering him, but her eyes never left my face. 'She'll have to stay with us. Emily, could you go on ahead and make up the spare room for her?'

Emily curtsied. 'Of course, Miss Katherine.'

'Damon, could you go and help her?' Katherine asked, clearly just wanting him to leave.

Damon didn't move, looking uncertainly from her to me. Katherine broke her focus on me for the first time to smile seductively at him. A small know of anger welled up in my stomach. I hated to see her manipulate him.

'Don't worry, we'll be right behind you. I just want a word with Elena.' she said sweetly, saying my name for the first time. 'I'll come and see you later.' Won over, he followed Emily, leaving me alone with Katherine. My stomach flipped over.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Katherine narrowed her eyes at me.

'You'd better tell me the truth,' she said, her voice low and venomous. 'Or I will make you regret the day you ever set foot here. Don't even think for a second that I believe your ridiculous story about a watch.'

Seeing her with Damon had broken some of the spell she had over me. I lifted my chin. 'Well, you'll have to, won't you?' I asked, my voice steady. 'It's the truth, and you won't be getting any other explanations.'

She stood for a second, then twirled to follow the others.

'You'd better come with me now,' she said over her shoulder. She was trying to seem casual, but I could see suspicion in her eyes. 'And don't think for a second that this is over.'

Drawing myself up to my full height and attempting to look as unconcerned as possible, I followed her.

**2010  
Damon POV**

Isobel stood there, smiling at us. There was something dark in her eyes. It was clear she was no longer the woman who'd begged me to turn her.

Alaric sat frozen beside me, simply staring. Up to me then, to deal with crazy, possibly evil vampire who was quite probably going to ask about the whereabouts of her daughter. Great.

I opened my mouth, but Alaric beat me to it. He'd found his voice then.

'Isobel,' his voice was filled with both wonder and shock.

'_Really witty start to the conversation, Ric.' _I thought dryly, taking control.

'What do you want, Isobel?' I asked, point blank.

She ignored me. 'You look good,' she said directly to Alaric. 'I hear you're a high school history teacher?'

'Where have you been, Isobel?' he asked flatly.

'Enough of the lovers' reunion, why did you come back?' I asked impatiently. We needed to find out if this visit had anything to do with Elena.

She looked at me for the first time.

'Damon…good to see you again.' Her smile reminded me of the night I'd turned her. I pushed the memories away. I'd come close to losing Elena's friendship because of that night.

'I can't say the feeling is mutual,' I said curtly.

Again, she ignored me and spoke to Alaric. 'I understand that you know my daughter Elena, and that she's been looking for me.' My heart jumped into my throat as Isobel continued, pulling a piece of paper out of her bag. 'I want you to arrange a meeting.'

My head was spinning. None of this was going to help. In fact, this was just making this situation worse. And why did Isobel think Elena would to see her anyway, after she'd abandoned her? I was about to refuse when Alaric finally got his voice back.

'You want me to arrange a meeting?' he said, sounding incredulous. At least he didn't sound like he was about to agree.

'Yes,' she replied, a hint of amusement in her voice.

'Screw you,' he said calmly, grabbing his jacket and standing up. Flashing Isobel a triumphant smile, I followed him out of the bar.

We hadn't even made it as far as the car park when she caught up to us, grabbing Alaric round the throat before I could even turn. I made to help him, but she held out a hand.

'Any closer, Damon, and he'll be dead.' I stopped, knowing she could carry out her threat. Then the cracks appeared around her eyes as she leaned close to Alaric's ear.

'Arrange the meeting, or I will kill the people of this town one by one, starting with your history students,' she hissed in his ear.

'Well you'd have to kill the whole town, because Elena isn't here!' I yelled, but it was too late. She'd dropped him on the ground and vanished.

Vampire super speed. Useful but sometimes a complete pain in the ass.

I pulled Alaric to his feet as he gasped for breath. 'What are we going to do?' he rasped.

'I don't know, but we'll think of something,' I said grimly.

At that moment, there was a thud behind us as Stefan skidded into the car park.

'I couldn't find her,' he said breathlessly. Then he saw the looks on our faces. 'What did I miss?'

**1864  
Elena POV**

The house was absolutely huge. Bigger than the Salvatore boarding house, and the garden was gorgeous, and well kept. I was noticing these insignificant things only to distract myself from the bigger picture, I knew. I was somehow in 1864. I was going to live with the Salvatores and Katherine. Katherine quite possibly hated me.

And the final thing. The worst thing. I knew what was going to happen here. Damon had told me the story. Horrible things were going to happen in this town, to this family, in the near future.

Was it possible? Could things change? Could I save the brothers from the events that would cause them to hate each other? Did…did I _want _to? If I stopped it, would I ever be able to get back? Even if I did - the realisation was like a cannonball slamming into my gut – I wouldn't know Stefan and Damon. Because they wouldn't be vampires. They wouldn't be alive in 2010. In saving their lives, I would be robbing over a century of life from them.

Katherine left me without a second glance, and Emily led me to a room with an old fashioned canopy bad and a real wood fire. I barely noticed anything about the room, mulling over everything. What was the right thing to do here?

Emily noticed my distractedness. 'You must be exhausted now, so I'll leave you, but we must talk tomorrow,' she whispered, turning to leave.

'OK,' I muttered, barely listening. Then I thought of something. 'Emily, wait,' I called.

She turned. 'What's the date today?'

When she told me, it felt like the cannonball in my gut was back. I knew from history exactly when Fell's Church had burned. And on that night, twenty seven vampires would be sealed in the tomb and the Salvatore brothers would turn. I didn't know what the right decision to make was. But I did know I had exactly a month to make it.

**You know the drill….review :)**


	5. Unusual Feelings

**A/N: Sorry for the longer wait, but we've had problems like computer viruses and revision…only two more weeks of exams! Hope you all enjoy the chapter and a huge thank you to everyone who reviewed! Response to this story has been amazing! **

**Disclaimer: Not ours.**

**1864  
Elena POV**

I was awakened the next morning by light streaming through the windows – I'd forgotten to shut the curtains. I could hear birds singing cheerily, and for a second thought I was at home, and would have to get up and go to school. Then I rolled onto my back, saw the canopy above the bed and remembered. _I was in 1864. _

I lay there, contemplating my next move. Katherine obviously did not like me, but as she was clearly curious about my looks and where I'd come from, it was unlikely she'd hurt me. I wasn't particularly scared of her – my anger at what she was doing to the Salvatore brothers was fuelling my courage. It had felt good to stand up to her last night, even in a small way.

Remembering this, I sat up in bed. No way was I going to hide out in my room until someone came to get me. I wanted Katherine to know I wasn't afraid of her.

As I sat up, I noticed a piece of paper lying on the dresser on the other side of the room. Curious, I climbed out of bed and began making my way over to it, but paused halfway there. Sitting on a tree branch directly outside the window, watching me with its beady amber eyes, sat a blackbird. I shivered as I caught sight of the familiar splotch of red under its wing.

I knew it was irrational to think I was being stalked by a bird. There were probably lots of blackbirds around here, and they probably all had the same red wings. Still, I couldn't help feeling the bird was the same one from the forest when I'd arrived – and that it was watching me.

Trying my hardest to ignore it – I was, after all, attempting to at least act unafraid – I read the note on the dresser. It was written in beautiful, swirling calligraphy.

_Elena, _

_Katherine told Stefan and his father that you're her cousin from Chicago and you've come to stay for a while as you wanted to see where your cousin lived after reading her letters. Damon knows the truth, but he won't tell anyone. Please stick to this story for the time being, and I will need to speak with you later. There are clothes in the dresser for you – I will come and help you dress in the morning. _

_Emily. _

_Interesting. _So Damon was allowed to know the truth, was he? And Stefan and his father might believe I was Katherine's cousin now, but would they continue to believe this when they saw me? Another question had occurred to me. Why didn't the 2010 and versions of Stefan and Damon remember me? I was sure, if they remembered any of this, they would have recognised me in 2010, especially as they'd both seen me in my modern clothes.

Head buzzing with questions, I opened the drawer to find the clothes Emily had brought out last night, as well as a few other dresses. Apparently Katherine, although she hated me, was going to provide for me well and treat me as a real guest of the house until she found out the truth. This might be the Salvatore's house, but I knew who was really in charge here.

The thought of waiting for Emily to come was extremely enticing, as then I wouldn't have to face the house alone, but I was feeling too full of restless nerves to stay in the room for long, and I wanted to get out and get a feel for my surroundings so I could work out what to do. I also felt a slight horror at expecting someone to help me _dress. _I was from 2010. Surely I could manage it on my own.

I pulled out the dress on top of the pile of the clothes, and then stopped short in horror. Underneath it was something that looked very much like a corset. _Oh no_. Surprisingly, the thought of having to wear the thing disturbed me more than anything else I was dealing with, including my possibly homicidal vampire doppelganger.

Ten minutes later, standing with my back to the full length mirror in the room, attempting to tie the corset strings, I was wishing I had waited for Emily. The stupid thing was impossible to put on myself, and breathing in to be able to tie it was painful. One more attempt, I decided, and then I'd just give up. I'd have to accept help.

Taking my biggest breath yet, I filled my lungs and yanked as hard as I could. The corset tightened so much that I couldn't stifle a cry of pain as it crushed my lungs. Suddenly dizzy, I sank to the floor, breathing deeply, trying to clear my head.

'Miss Pierce?' I heard a familiar male voice from outside my door.

'I'm fine,' I called, but it was too late.

The door opened to reveal Damon, looking concerned. His look of worry deepened when he saw me on the floor.

'Are you alright?' he asked, rushing over and helping me to my feet. When he caught sight of me in only the shift that went under the dress, the corset hanging loosely on my chest, he blushed a deep red and took a step back.

'I'm sorry to intrude like this,' he said, stammering slightly. 'I thought you'd hurt yourself.'

'It's fine,' I said, attempting to smile reassuringly. 'I decided to try and dress myself, but it didn't work out.'

Now that he saw I wasn't angry, he appeared to be trying not to laugh, and looked much more like the Damon I knew.

'Do you know where Emily is?' I asked. 'She promised to help me get dressed.'

'I think she just went into Katherine's room, so she'll probably be a while.' Damon replied. To my complete embarrassment, as soon as he finished speaking, my stomach gave a huge growl, reminding me that I hadn't eaten since lunch the day before. Or lunch 145 years in the future. Whatever.

'Sounds like you can't wait,' Damon flashed the cocky smile I knew so well, and for some reason, I felt a tingle in my stomach at the sight of it. I put it down to the relief of seeing something familiar.

I sighed. 'I suppose I'll have to, if Emily isn't available to help me.'

Damon cleared his throat. 'I suppose I could help you, if you're really desperate,' he said.

Dimly, I registered that by the standards of 1864, this would be considered hugely inappropriate. However, I was starving, and didn't really want to wait.

'That would be great,' I said, with another smile, and turned around.

Gently, Damon took the corset strings. 'Take a deep breath,' he commanded, and I obeyed, filling my lungs with air.

As he carefully laced the corset up, his hands brushed my back. I felt my skin break out in goosebumps wherever he touched me, and shook myself internally. What was _wrong _with me?

When he was finished, he took my shoulders, gently swivelling me around. For a second, we stared into each other eyes, then he cleared his throat again and took a step back, reaching for the dress I'd left on the bed. Wordlessly, he held it out for me to step into, then moved behind me to do up the back.

Again, I could feel his hands on me, this time through the material of the corset, and had to repress the small shivers that rushed through my body. I had no idea why Damon was affecting me this way.

I thanked him for helping me, and he again flashed his confident smile.

'It was my pleasure, Miss Pierce,' he said, sweeping into a sort of half bow. 'I'll wait outside until you're ready, and then show you the way to breakfast.'

'Thank you, D-Mr Salvatore,' I said, catching myself just in time. 'And, please, call me Elena.'

'Only if you call me Damon,' he grinned, and left the room without another word.

Not wanting to keep him waiting, I grabbed the brush lying on the dresser and quickly ran it through my hair, then joined him outside.

We'd only gone a few steps when Emily came down the corridor towards us. 'Elena!' she said, sounding surprised. 'I thought you'd need help getting ready!'

'I had help,' I said, smiling shyly at Damon. He grinned jauntily back and took my arm, looking at Emily.

'Don't worry Emily, I'll take care of Elena here, and I won't tell my father or brother her secret,' he said with a wink.

Emily looked faintly disapproving, but before she could say anything I asked 'Where is Katherine?'

It had occurred to me, that, despite my new plan to show her how unafraid I was, her reaction if she found out that Damon had helped me dress would probably not be pretty.

'She is….visiting with the other Mr Salvatore,' said Emily delicately, indicating a door further up the corridor. I thought I saw a hint of sadness flash in Damon's eyes, but it was gone in a second.

'Your father has gone to a Town Council meeting,' Emily added to Damon before turning to me. 'The elder Mr Salvatore said to apologise to you for not being able to see you this morning, but would like you to know you are very welcome in this household.'

I nodded, not really sure what to say to that. Damon tugged on my arm.

'Let's get you some breakfast,' he said, casting a dark look at the door Emily had indicated as we walked past it.

Downstairs, there was breakfast already laid out in a dining room that was fancier than any I'd ever seen in 2010. Damon chivalrously pulled my chair out for me before sitting down beside me.

'Help yourself to food,' he said, a knowing look in his eye.

Starving, I piled some eggs onto my plate and started eating. While we ate, I decided to just take the plunge. It might be better in the long run if I knew exactly what was going on around here, and exactly how much everyone knew about it.

'So Katherine is…visiting your brother?' I asked Damon bluntly. 'Last night, I got the impression that you and her were...?' I trailed off.

Damon looked uncomfortable. 'We are,' he admitted slowly. 'But she's…with my brother as well.'

'How can you let that happen?' I asked. It was something I'd always wondered, but the right moment to ask had never come along in 2010. Damon just looked at me, the sadness back in his eyes. Instinctively, I laid my hand on his arm as we looked into each others eyes.

At that moment, we heard footsteps on the stairs, and I hurriedly removed it again. Katherine and Stefan, both looking incredibly cheerful, came into the room.

Instinctively, I broke eye contact with Damon, focusing on my food. I felt that once again, I'd let him get to me. In a way he never had in 2010.

'Miss Pierce,' Stefan said politely as he sat down next to me. 'I just wanted to apologise for last night. You do look _extraordinarily _like your cousin…and I thought…'

Caught off guard by what had happened with Damon, I dismissed this by muttering something along the lines of 'don't worry, it's fine.'

I had just shifted my attention back to breakfast when Katherine said sweetly 'Elena, I was just wondering if I could have a word with you in the hall.'

I met her brown eyes, so like my own, straight on, and then stood up.

'Of course, _cousin_,' I said, careful to match her poisonously sweet tone.

Outside the room, Katherine didn't waste any time. She grasped my arm tightly, holding me in front of her.

'How did you get here?' she asked, looking straight into my eyes, her voice low and persuasive. Her pupils appeared to dilate, then shrink again. _Vampire compulsion. _ I could recognise it, although I wasn't taken in by it. 

'You already know,' I said, sounding much more confident than I felt. 'The watch…'

She shook me slightly. 'What do you want? Tell me the truth!'

I met her gaze, not breaking eye contact. 'I've told you. I want to get home.'

She gave a cry of frustration and headed straight back into the dining room, leaving me standing in the hall, gripping the necklace, hidden beneath the neckline of my dress, that had saved me. I was sure that Katherine knew I hadn't been taken in. Knew that I had Vervain on my person. Which meant that she would work out I knew about her powers.

**Please review!**


	6. The Truth

**A/N: We are so amazingly sorry. We realise that nothing we can say can make up for the ten month wait, but, if it's any comfort, the last year has been insane with work and university applications and stuff. Most of that is over now (except final exams in June) and we promise to try and commit to this fic a little more – we do have plans for it. Thanks so much to everyone who's read this, especially those who've taken the time to review or message us. Sorry we haven't responded – we haven't even been checking the account. We really hope that at least some of you will forgive us and continue reading the story. Hope you all like the chapter! **

**Disclaimer: Not ours. **

**1864  
Elena POV **

I walked slowly back into the dining room, determined not to let my fear show. The Salvatore brothers didn't need to know anything about the confrontation that had just taken place. When I entered, I saw a look of surprise at my swift return flicker across Katherine's face and held my head a little higher. I was not going to be intimidated by her.

Damon appeared to have finished eating. 'Elena, why don't I show you around the town?' he asked, rising to his feet, clearly uncomfortable being in a room with just Katherine and Stefan. Apparently, seeing them together did hurt him.

I smiled at him, although out of the corner of my eye I was watching Katherine, who hadn't taken her eyes off me since I'd re-entered. There was a calculating look on her face, and I knew she was still trying to figure out how I'd avoided her compulsion. Resisting the urge to reach for my necklace, I nodded and thanked Damon. Getting away from this house with someone who knew the truth about where I had come from was exactly what I needed.

A few minutes later, Damon and I were strolling towards the gate of the huge Salvatore estate. It was a beautiful day, bright and sunny, and I felt better with every step away from Katherine.

I snuck a sideways look at Damon. He, too, looked much more relaxed than he at breakfast. Enough that I decided my question was worth another try.

'So…you never told me how you can be with Katherine, knowing that she's with your brother too,' I said, hesitating slightly. 'Doesn't it hurt, watching them together?'

Damon turned to me, and instantly I felt guilty for putting that sadness back in his eyes.

'I don't know,' he answered simply. 'I know Katherine's not perfect,' – I stifled a laugh at this – 'but all I can say is that I want to be with her, and I guess I just live in hope that one day she'll choose me over my brother.'

My heart breaking slightly, I stared at him, wondering how much, at this point, he knew. I knew that he had found out Katherine's true identity eventually and that he'd willingly drank her blood in an attempt to be with her forever, but I wasn't sure when that point had been. An idea on how to find out came to me, and I took a deep breath and tried it before I could talk myself out of it.

'You don't have to do it, you know,' I said softly, hating the advice I was giving him. If he even tried to break things off with Katherine, she'd likely just compel him to stop caring that she was with Stefan. At least at the moment the majority of his feelings were his own. 'You could just…end it. Let her be with Stefan.'

He looked away from me, staring resolutely at the gate, still a hundred metres ahead of us.

'I can't, Elena,' he sighed, and to my horror I felt more small shivers run through me as he said my name. Ignoring them, I focused on what he was saying. 'It's more…complicated than a normal relationship. Katherine can be…difficult when she doesn't get her way.'

Taking a calculated risk – I couldn't guarantee that Katherine wouldn't later compel Damon to tell her about any jewellery or suspicious objects on my person that could contain vervain – I reached for my necklace, pulling it out from under the neckline of my dress and began to fiddle with it as obviously as I could.

The effect was electric. As soon as he saw it, Damon's jaw dropped and he grabbed my wrist, roughly yanking me behind the nearest tree, out of sight of the house.

'Where did you get that?' he demanded, looking straight into my eyes. He hadn't let go of my wrist, and with his other hand he reached for my necklace. Not sure that I wanted him to see it up close just yet; I took a step back, only to feel my back press up against the tree. I jerked my wrist, pulling it from his grasp, and grabbed the necklace, preventing him from reaching it.

Immediately, as if a spell was broken, he stepped back. 'Elena, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you.' I could see the sincerity in his face. 'It's just…there's no way you could have that necklace….unless…'

'What is it, Damon?' I asked urgently. I had a feeling that this was important.

'Who gave you that necklace, Elena?' he asked, ignoring my question.

Likewise, I ignored his, and simply stared at him, refusing to break eye contact.

He sighed, apparently sensing that stubbornness ran in Pierce family. 'That necklace…looks a lot like one that was our mother's. She left it to Stefan when she died…he was always the favourite son.' Even now, I could hear bitterness in his voice. 'It's one of his most treasured possessions. If that's the same necklace….how did you get it?'

I took a deep breath, wondering what could possibly be the best thing to do here. Should I come clean, tell Damon about everything and let him make his own decision? Or should I lie until I had figured out what to do? How was I going to prevent Katherine from finding out anything that I'd said?

Apparently it was too late to back out even if I'd wanted to, as after a second Damon asked, sounding like he was struggling to get the words out 'Did….Stefan give it to you?'

Unable to think of anything to say, I gave a mute nod. Damon had always been good at putting the pieces together quickly. So he did know about Katherine. Knew and wasn't surprised by the idea that his brother was still alive 145 years in the future. He reached for the necklace, and this time I didn't stop him. He examined it closely, cradling it in the palm of his hand, and then gave a start, dropping it so that it once more rested against my dress.

'There's vervain inside it, isn't there?' he asked quietly. I took a deep breath. No point hiding anything now. 'Yes,' I answered, holding his gaze.

He took a step back. 'So you know.'

'Yes,' I said again, waiting for the impact of what I was saying to sink in on him.

'You know Stefan, in the future,' he said suddenly, once again meeting my gaze. 'Do you…know me?' I nodded. 'Katherine? Do you know her?'

_Oh, God._ This was it. Time to explain. 'No,' I said quietly, my voice coming out as a squeak. I hated the fact that what I was going to say was going to hurt him. 'I don't know her, Damon.' My voice was a little stronger now.

He looked stricken. 'Stefan and I….we're not with her? Where is she?'

'I don't know, Damon. None of us do.' I swallowed, hard. There was no easy way to do this. And at least by telling him, I could change things for the better. If it was possible to change things at all, that is. 'You…you've been looking for her, but we don't know where she is.'

He now looked completely stunned. 'How did we get separated from her?'

I could see that the idea of Katherine betraying him and his brother hadn't even occurred to him, and again I felt a flash of anger at Katherine for manipulating them like this. But this wasn't the time to think about that. I knew the story. Both brothers had told me it only hours before I had come to the past. 'Damon….a month from now all the vampires in Mystic Falls are going to be exposed and hunted by the Council. They'll be trapped in a tomb beneath the Church, but Katherine will escape and run away. You'll assume that she's in the tomb, and will spend 145 years trying to get her out. She'll know that you're looking for her, but she won't care. She betrays you, Damon.'

I stopped there. Stefan and Damon's death at the hands of their father….the details of them being turned into vampires… those weren't things I could tell Damon right now. I couldn't bring myself to add to the pain in his eyes.

For a second, Damon just stared at me. Then, so fast that it was hard to believe he wasn't a vampire, he grabbed my arms, pinning me against the tree.

'You're lying,' he hissed. 'Katherine wouldn't betray me, or Stefan.'

Somehow, even though he had me trapped, I wasn't afraid. I knew that Damon, even Damon as he was now, wouldn't hurt me. And that knowledge surprised me.

'I'm not lying, Damon, I swear it,' I said, looking him straight in the eye. 'I know you don't know me, but think about it. Are you really all that sure that Katherine wouldn't betray you? Do you really think she cares about you as much as you do about her? And If Stefan was still with Katherine, why would he give me one of his most prized possessions? One that he altered to protect me from vampires? He gave it to me to protect me from her, Damon, in case she ever showed up and expressed interest in me. And to protect me from…other vampires. I have no reason to lie to you.' I'd just come extremely close to telling Damon exactly what he'd become, what his relationship with his brother had been like. That was another thing I couldn't yet tell him.

Damon continued to hold me, staring at me, searching my face. Finally he released me, slumping down to the ground beside me, face in his hands. 'Damon? Do you believe me?' I asked quietly, laying a hand on his shoulder. 'Are you OK?'

His shoulder shook slightly. 'I don't know. I just…need a minute.'

We stayed there like that for a while, him collecting his thoughts while I considered the implications of what I had just told him. Surely, now that Damon knew what was going to happen, things couldn't go on as they had done before. Surely the two of us could prevent the carnage. I hadn't even realised that was what I'd decided to do, but knew that there was no way I could have just sat by and watched it happen. And there was no way I could get home before it happened either, as I needed the vampire compass.

Suddenly, I realised that I hadn't even considered the problem of getting home all morning, my mind occupied with more immediate problems. It was while I was mulling over this that I heard a rustle in above my head and looked up.

There, perched in the tree above my head, was a large black bird. It shifted slightly as the breeze blew the branch it was on, and I caught a glimpse of the red mark under its wing. I felt a chill down my spine. There was no longer any doubt. This was the same bird I'd seen this morning – and last night – and there was definitely something weird about it.

'Damon,' I said urgently, tapping his arm. 'Have you ever seen that bird before?'

He looked up briefly, then turned to me with a remnant of his usual cocky smile. 'It's just a blackbird, Elena. There are lots of them around here.'

'Lots with that same red mark under the wing?' I countered. 'I've seen that bird three times since I got here Damon, and I think it's something to do with Katherine.'

This time he actually managed a laugh. 'Again, Elena, it's just a bird. Not connected to Katherine.'

'Damon, in my time, the first few times I met you were preceded by the sight of a huge blackbird.' I said bluntly. 'You used it as a sort of….familiar I suppose, for lack of a better word. I never knew much about it, but I always assumed you compelled it to spy on things for you. And every appearance of the bird meant you were nearby.'

That had shocked him. He shot the bird another uncertain glance, no doubt considering what would happen if Katherine were to find out what I'd just told him, or even came across the two of us, sitting close together under a tree.

'Come on,' he said in a low voice. 'We should leave the grounds.'

We did so, hurriedly, me looking over my shoulder for Katherine every other second. Somehow, however, we made it outside.

Once we had safely shut the gate – not that that could prevent the bird from following us, now that I thought about it – Damon turned to me.

'Elena, if what you've told me is true, and I'm _not _saying I believe you yet, we have to stop it,' he said calmly. 'I won't let that happen to Stefan, to me.'

**Please review, even though we are horrible people who haven't updated in ages. **


	7. A Plan

**A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who forgave us for the massive break and read the new chapter, and to everyone who's just found the story, especially those who took the time to review it (even though we barely deserve it). We love hearing your views, so please keep them coming, especially if you have this on Story Alert. **

**Disclaimer: We own nothing but the plot.**

**1864  
Elena POV **

I stared at Damon, who looked utterly determined. I knew that look – he wasn't going to take no for an answer. Apparently the choice was made, then. We were going to work together to stop the horrible events that I knew were supposed to take place shortly.

'_Wait a second,'_ said a voice in my head. '_If you stop Stefan and Damon from turning, you'll never meet them. So you'll never get the compass, and then you'll never travel back in time. Doesn't the fact that you're here mean this plan is destined to fail?' _

I pushed the thought away. We would succeed somehow. Somehow, this would all work out. I'd get back….and somehow survive without the Salvatore brothers. I took a deep breath, reminding myself that it would be much better for them if they didn't turn. They'd had 145 years of pain and hating each other before I'd met them. And Damon appeared to agree, as it seemed he wanted to prevent his own transformation from happening.

'OK,' I said, realising Damon was waiting for an answer. 'How, exactly, are we going to do that?'

'Don't look at me,' he replied with a grin that made him look much more like the Damon I knew. 'You're the one with all the amazing knowledge of the future, what do you suggest?'

I racked my brains furiously, thinking that the reason this was all apparently destined to fail was because it seemed to be impossible. We wanted to save Stefan and Damon's human lives. That was a given. But what else? Did I want to stop the vampires from being exposed and trapped? What would happen to Mystic Falls over the next 145 years if I did? What was the right thing to do here? And was it even possible to change things?

It must be, I argued with myself. By being here, surely I'd changed the future already. The Stefan and Damon I knew would remember me turning up in their lives in 1864…except if we succeeded there wouldn't be a Stefan and Damon in 2010.

Time travel is a lot more complicated than it seems in books and movies.

'So,' Damon prompted. 'What's the plan?'

'Give me a minute,' I replied, slightly annoyed that he expected me to work so quickly. One look at his dancing eyes, however, made me realise he was joking, and I relaxed into a laugh. Strangely, I felt extremely comfortable with Damon, even though as far as he was concerned we'd known each other less than 24 hours. Still, I suppose he had helped me dress this morning. Something like that might speed a relationship along.

'How about I give you that tour of the town I promised?' he suggested. 'Might help you get some ideas.'

I nodded, smiling, and started following him down the road. After one step, I tripped over the hem of my ridiculous dress and went flying.

Before I could hit the ground, Damon caught me, his arms locking around me.

'Thanks,' I said, slightly breathless from the fall. 'I knew there was a reason these things went out of fashion.'

I looked up at him, and our eyes met. Suddenly I was very aware of how tightly he was holding me, and surprisingly, I liked it…I mentally shook myself. If I was having these thoughts about anyone, it should be Stefan. 1864 Stefan did not know the truth about me, nor had we become friends, so for the moment I should not be having these thoughts about anyone.

Abruptly, Damon cleared his throat, and set me gently on my feet. Looking around, I saw why. There was a man coming towards us. With a start, I recognised him as the man who'd seen me in my modern clothes shortly after I arrived. My instinct was to hide, but then I remembered that Emily had altered his memory.

'_Calm down, Elena,'_ I told myself. _'You're going to have to be introduced to the townspeople at some point.'_

'Jonathan!' Damon's overly cheerful voice gave away his embarrassment over the position we'd been found in. 'Good to see you! May I present Miss Elena Pierce, Miss Katherine's cousin, who's staying with us for a while? Miss Pierce, this is Jonathan Gilbert, one of our town's most respected members.'

I could see Damon was wondering why I'd visibly jumped at the name, but I pulled myself together and managed to keep calm and give some semblance of a curtsey – which I hoped was the correct thing to do upon being introduced to someone.

It seemed to have been, as Jonathan Gilbert – my ancestor - immediately stepped forward and kissed my hand, exclaiming 'A pleasure to meet you, Miss Pierce.'

'Likewise, Mr Gilbert,' I replied, smiling. Inwardly, my mind was racing. This was the inventor of the pocket watch that had brought me here.

Jonathan Gilbert was studying my face. 'I must remark upon your extraordinary resemblance to your cousin, Miss Pierce. The two of you could easily be twins.'

I had no idea how to respond to that, and it must have showed, as Damon jumped in with 'It's apparently an old joke in the Pierce family, these two and how they must have been twins separated at birth.'

Jonathan nodded absently, still staring at me. Suddenly he jumped, reaching into his pocket.

'I'd love to stay and further make you're your acquaintance, Miss Pierce, but I'm afraid I'm going to be late for a meeting with the mayor.'

He said something else, but I was no longer concentrating on the conversation, fully focused on the object he'd just pulled out of his pocket, obviously to check the time. The pocket watch. It was right there. The tool that we needed. If I could just steal it, I could get home and the townsfolk wouldn't have their vampire compass. The exposure of the vampires couldn't happen...and Stefan and Damon would be saved….well they wouldn't be killed by their own father anyway. What if Katherine turned them later so they could live out her idea of a perfect future? Would that be any better for them? And if I stole that watch, the vampires in Mystic Falls would never be captured, and who knows what I would go home to.

Slowly, I was beginning to realise what I had to do. I had to steal the watch and somehow work out how to use it, yes. But I had to wait until the night that Fell's Church burnt. I had to somehow save Stefan and Damon, then wait until the vampires were safely sealed in the tomb, and then steal the watch and get home.

This was truly going to be impossible.

**2010**

**Damon POV**

Stefan stared from me to Alaric. 'What did I miss?' he repeated when neither of us answered. 'You both look like hell.'

'That's because while you were off gallivanting round the woods when we know Elena probably isn't there, Isobel showed up and threatened to terrorise the town if we don't let her meet her daughter!' I snapped. Probably not entirely fair, as it did actually make sense to search the woods, but I wasn't in a rational mood.

'Isobel? Elena's mother?' Stefan looked stunned.

'The one and only.' I confirmed. Alaric only nodded, still looking shell shocked.

'Why would she want to meet Elena after all the trouble she took to avoid her? Elena's not here anyway, so they can't meet.' Stefan said reasonably.

'Well done, Sherlock.' Sarcasm was really dripping off my every word tonight.

Stefan looked exasperated. 'If you'd let me finish, Damon, I was going to suggest that if Isobel wants to meet Elena that badly, she might be willing to help us look. She might know something we don't. We don't know where she's been, what connections she might have. '

'Well, that's great, Stefan, but we're missing one piece of the puzzle. She isn't here.' I was getting more and more worried every second. We were wasting yet more time here.

'She'll come back. She'll have to, if she wants to know the details of the meeting with Elena she thinks we're setting up.' Stefan said, sounding much more confident than I felt.

I was prevented from replying by my phone ringing in my pocket. The screen read 'John Gilbert.'

I picked it up immediately. 'Tell me you've found something.'

'I think you'd better come back to the house right now, Damon.' John said not even bothering to insult me. Things must be serious. 'Bring Ric and your brother, if they're with you.'

'We'll be right there,' I said, snapping the phone shut. I looked at the other two. 'I think John found something in one of the old journals.'

'Let's go,' said Stefan immediately, and Alaric nodded his agreement, stumbling slightly. I sighed. Drunk. I'd forgotten.

We were back at the Gilbert house ten minutes later. John was waiting for us in the kitchen. Apparently Jeremy had yet to leave his room and discover what was going on. Probably for the best. Whiny kid brother would only slow us down.

John pushed one of Jonathan Gilbert's open journals towards us. 'I was looking for anything I could find on the pocket watch, and found this. It's one of his earliest diagrams of it. He does several more in other, more recent diaries, so I'd never really looked at this one before. Look at what he's written by the knob on the side.'

Alaric put down the glass of water he'd poured himself, leaning over to look at the diary. 'Could be used for travel – turn one direction for past, other for future.' He leaned back. 'But that implies….'

'Time travel,' John said. 'He meant this watch to be used for time travel, as well was finding vampires. No idea why, maybe he meant to travel to the past to kill the vampires before they could damage Mystic Falls at all?'

There was a silence as we all pondered the implications of this.

'What are we going to do?' Stefan asked. 'Even if this is true? How can we possibly find out where – _when – _Elena is?'

Alaric reached for the watch, which was lying on the table next to John, and indicated the face. 'Well, this isn't showing anything near to the correct time. Was it before? Maybe you set it to a certain time depending on when you want to go. Or maybe you set it back one hour for every day you want to go back. Or maybe…'

'It's going to take us ages to figure this out.' Stefan moaned. 'Anything could happen to Elena while we're doing it…'

'Actually, Stefan, it can't,' I said smugly, having just thought of something. 'If we work out when Elena is and how to use the watch, all we have to do is appear a second after she does and bring her back. Doesn't matter how long it takes us to do it.'

There was a silence as everyone stared at me.

'Oh come on. Basic time travel rules. Don't you guys ever watch TV?' Feeling a little better even though we still had a giant task ahead of us, I reached for the watch and examined it closely. At that moment, something started making a high pitched noise, loud enough to make me cover my ears. Everyone else had similar reactions.

'What is that?' Alaric yelled over the din.

The noise sounded slightly familiar, and I was just trying to work out where I had heard it before when it stopped, as suddenly as it had started. The silence was an incredible relief.

And then I looked up, hoping one of the others might know what the hell was happening now, only to drop the watch in shock.

Elena was standing in the kitchen, right in front of me.

**Please review! And don't worry, even though Elena is back in the 2010 storyline, the story is far from over. 1864 has a lot of catching up to do!**


	8. Meet the Parent

**A/N: As usual, thanks for all the reviews everyone! Please keep doing it – hearing all your reviews is incredibly rewarding and an extra incentive to keep writing. For everyone who had a question, we think we got to you in review replies but our apologies if you didn't, feel free to ask again/ask any other questions. We hope you enjoy this chapter! **

**2010**

**Damon POV**

There was complete silence in the kitchen. Everyone was staring, absolutely stunned, at Elena, who was dressed, not in her usual jeans and leather jacket, but in a long, old-fashioned dress. She looked, in fact, exactly like Katherine had always looked, and it unnerved me. Some part of my mind, obviously the most rational part, was telling me that she'd figured out the watch on her own and hadn't needed us, and was admiring her for it. Who knows how long she'd been trapped in the past before she finally managed to get home? Part of me was wondering if it actually was Elena. She looked so much like Katherine…

And then she rushed forward and threw her arms around me, and I was sure. I hugged her back, tightly, burying my face in her hair, and let myself relax for the first time since she'd told me her car had broken down.

'What happened to you? Where did you go?' I asked, still holding her. Stefan cleared his throat, and we immediately broke apart. She rushed to Stefan next, and hugged him tightly too, then greeted Ric and John. And then she turned back to me.

'You asked where I went, Damon,' she said quietly. '1864. I was stuck there for a month before I managed to get home.'

And then she started telling her story.

**1864**

**Elena POV **

For the next week, I worked on lying low and establishing a routine, trying to avoid Katherine's suspicions. What really scared me was that she seemed content to let me avoid her, not even trying to compel me again – I was sure she was just biding her time, waiting for me to relax before she made her move. I asked Damon over and over if she had asked him anything about me and he always said no – but I couldn't shake the feeling she had and compelled him to forget, and quite possibly now knew everything. Occasionally, as I went about my day, I'd hear a rustling noise behind me that sounded like a bird taking off, but never managed to spot the bird itself. Regardless, this confirmed my suspicions that Katherine was always watching me. By now I was convinced that the blackbird with the red wing was her spy. The idea of Katherine knowing what was going to happen terrified me, and for this reason I refused to give Damon much more information. Luckily, he understood and didn't press me. I was fairly certain that he was starting to believe me about Katherine by now – maybe he'd always known, deep down, that she was manipulating him.

Damon and I spent a lot of time together as the days passed. He showed me round the entire town and introduced me the many of the townspeople. I was amazed at how little had changed – the town was full of familiar names in familiar roles, like Sheriff Forbes and Mayor Lockwood.

And a week after I arrived, it became obvious that Mystic Falls had remained the same in other ways, too – it appeared I was going to be present for some of the first of the ever present Founder's Events. I came downstairs for breakfast to discover Damon, on his own at the table. Stefan and Katherine were nowhere to be seen, which was a relief. It still felt strange to not want to be in Stefan's company, but I could already tell that the 1864 version of Stefan trusted Katherine completely and spent so much time with her that trying to get close to him would probably be more destructive than helpful.

Spotting that Damon looked dejected, and was slumped down in his seat, I dropped into the chair next to him and asked if he was OK.

'It's nothing, really,' he said without looking up. 'Except that just before you came Stefan and I both asked Katherine to the Founder's Ball, and she's just decided to choose Stefan.'

'I'm sorry, Damon,' I said quietly, reaching for his hand – a move that somehow felt perfectly natural.

'You knew this would happen, didn't you,' he stated. It wasn't a question.

I nodded, reluctant to say anything as there was a possibility that Katherine was nearby and overheard.

Damon appeared to have forgotten that that was possible. I wondered if he even knew about how good her hearing was. How much about being a vampire had Katherine told him?

'You told me that she didn't care about me….I suppose she prefers Stefan,' I could barely hear him, he was speaking so quietly.

He looked at me then, and there was fire in his eyes. 'Elena…I believe you. Everything you've told me. Before I didn't – completely – but I do now.'

I smiled. Even though I'd suspected he had, I was glad to have it confirmed. Not wanting Katherine to potentially hear any more, I grabbed his arm and pulled him outside. I was about to ask how much Katherine had told him about being a vampire when he put a hand on my arm to stop me, looking over my head at someone behind me.

'Father! What a surprise to see you!' he exclaimed. Incredibly interested, I spun around to finally lay eyes on the famous Giuseppe Salvatore.

Despite being a guest in his house for a week, I'd yet to meet Stefan and Damon's father. He always left the house before we all rose in the morning, and returned very late every night, apparently in meetings with the mayor and other town officials regarding the upcoming Founder's Ball and other Founder's events. I was sure, however, that event meetings were just a cover for secret council meetings. The townspeople were planning the massacre than I knew would take place in three weeks time – the massacre that made me feel sick to my stomach every time I thought about it. Sometimes I wondered whether I should try to prevent the whole thing, but always decided against it. That would change too much, and having vampires remain in Mystic Falls could end up harming people I loved.

Now I was finally able to meet the elder Mr Salvatore. He was older than I expected, with white hair. He ignored Damon completely, coming to a halt in front of me.

'Miss Pierce, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. Please excuse my absence over the past week,' he said, kissing my hand as so many other people had done over the past week. 'Founder's events have been keeping me so busy, you understand?'

I curtsied and assured him that I completely understood and took no offence at all.

'I trust my son has been taking good care of you, Miss Pierce?' he asked, finally glancing at Damon. I saw disapproval in his face.

'Yes, Damon has been…most helpful in helping me get settled in.' I said, determined to do what I could to repair the relationship between Damon and his father. If I was here to help the Salvatore brothers, I might as well go that extra mile.

'Good to know you're making yourself useful, Damon,' Mr Salvatore said. The 'for once' was implied. He turned back to me. 'I'll see you at dinner, Miss Pierce.' So he was planning to join us. Interesting.

With that, he bid us goodbye and headed for the house. Damon looked half embarrassed, half angry.

'Sorry about that,' he muttered. 'My father thinks I'm useless and a coward, mostly because I left the army.'

He turned away from me, obviously ashamed. I took his arm, turning him back towards me. I could see obvious pain in his face, and my heart went out to him. I wondered what it was like to constantly feel that everyone you met preferred your brother.

'Damon, it's OK. I don't think you're a coward.' I said, as gently as I could.

He didn't say anything, only nodded, but I could see he felt much happier, and we spent the rest of the day much as we'd spent the previous seven. Today thought, I felt strangely nervous about going into dinner. With Mr Salvatore there, everyone would show up, and I wondered how much Katherine knew about the council, if anything, and whether she'd try to get information out of Stefan and Damon's father. Did she have any idea at all about what was going to happen in three weeks?

Evening arrived. Emily helped me dress in the best of the dresses Katherine had lent me. I had tried several more times to dress myself, but had finally given it up as a lost cause. Independence was one of things I missed most about the 21st century.

When I got downstairs, Mr Salvatore was already seated at the head of the table, Katherine on his left side. He waved for me to sit in the empty seat on his right. Swallowing hard, I did so, although the close proximity to Katherine made me nervous. She shot me a look that made goosebumps rise on my skin. I hadn't seen much of her all week, and suddenly I was sure that she was going to try something soon.

'You two really could be twins, you know.' Mr Salvatore said jovially, offering me some chicken.

I felt the familiar stab of annoyance at this. The resemblance between Katherine and I had been pointed out more times than I could count over the past week. I knew I should be grateful that everyone I'd met had accepted the cousin story in spite of it, but I really didn't want any similarities between Katherine and I pointed out. Even purely aesthetic ones.

I realised that there was a gleam of irritation in Katherine's eye. Apparently she too, hated our resemblance. She had to be wondering how exactly I was related to her, something I was wondering myself. Damon had once told me that vampires couldn't procreate, but surely I had to be direct descendent of her?

I was jolted out of my thoughts by talk of the Founder's Ball, which was just under a week away. Mr Salvatore seemed delighted that Katherine and Stefan had plans to attend together, something that Stefan announced with a tinge of smugness at being chosen over his brother.

'So who are you planning on bringing, Damon?' Katherine asked sweetly at the first break in conversation. Somehow, this question – clearly she meant to remind Damon of who was in charge in her twisted little world, as well as quite possibly punishing him for spending so much time with me over the past week – spurred me to find my courage. Damon had gone bright red, and was obviously trying to think of something to say. All eyes were on him when I lifted my chin slightly and said, a little louder than necessary:

'Actually, Damon and I decided that we would go together.'

There was a shocked silence. Katherine threw me a look that quite clearly asked 'How dare you?' I forced myself to hold her gaze, knowing that I had quite possibly just declared war. It probably wasn't the smartest thing I could have done, but I hadn't been able to help myself – I'd wanted to say something help Damon. Something to show Katherine that she couldn't win all the time.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something that looked like shock, then a flash of happiness, dawn on Damon's face.

'Is that true, Damon?' Katherine asked. I could hear the poisonous undertone in her voice.

He turned to her and smiled.

'Yes it is. I feel honoured to be able to escort Elena to the Founder's Ball.'

**It wouldn't be a real Vampire Diaries fic without a Founders Event, would it? Next chapter will be the Founders Ball! **

**Please review! It really does spur us to write faster. **


	9. The Founder's Ball

**A/N: As usual, thanks to everyone of who took the time to review, especially those of you who have been reviewing every chapter :). It means so much to us. Now, as promised, on to the next chapter and the start of the Founder's Ball. **

**Disclaimer: Wish we owned it. **

**1864**

**Elena POV**

The moment dinner was over, Katherine swept out of the room with her head held high, without a glance at either me or Damon. Since my impromptu announcement, she hadn't spoken to either of us, only engaging in polite conversation with Mr Salvatore. Stefan, however, lingered in the room.

'I'm glad you two are going together,' he said, looking from me to Damon with the smile I knew so well. 'I hope you have fun.' He glanced briefly at the door. 'Don't worry, I'm sure she'll come around….eventually.'

With that, he too left, probably to follow Katherine, leaving me to wonder at how unaffected I had been by that smile – and also how Stefan could possibly be naïve enough to think that Katherine would eventually come around to the idea of Damon and me going to the Founder's Ball together.

Taking a deep breath, I turned to Damon. Despite the expression I'd seen on his face at dinner, I wasn't sure how he felt about taking me – it was possible he'd only been relieved that he didn't have to answer Katherine.

'Damon, I'm sorry about that, I just…I hated how triumphant she looked and I wanted to do something to take that expression off her face. She always wins…I just wanted things to not go her way, just this once.' I babbled, trying to get it all out as soon as possible so he could politely tell me he didn't want to take me and it would be over. I was surprised at the amount of pain the thought of him rejecting me cause. 'You don't have to take me, we can make an excuse…'

'Elena.' Damon cut me off, reaching for my hand and squeezing it, hard. 'I meant what I said before. I would be honoured to escort you to the Founder's Ball.'

'Really?' I asked. I knew I shouldn't feel so happy about this, but I couldn't help it.

'Really,' he answered, smiling. It wasn't his usual cocky grin, but somehow it made his face seem softer, happier. 'And Elena…thank you. I had no idea what to say to her.'

With that he leaned forward, kissed me softly on the cheek and, dropping my hand, left the room, leaving me standing there alone, my cheek and hand tingling as if he were still touching them.

Over the five days between that eventful dinner and the Founder's Ball, I missed Bonnie and Caroline constantly. I'd missed them before – had missed all my family and friends – but now I needed them more than ever.

I needed them to tell me what to do, to help me explain why I was having these feelings for Damon. There had been times in 2010 – our trip to Atlanta came to mind – when I'd felt flashes of something between us, but never like this. Never feelings this strong or this constantly present. And never when Stefan had been in such close proximity. Granted, Stefan here wasn't the Stefan I knew but still, surely his presence should have prevented me from having feelings for Damon. Did I even have feelings for Damon? Or was I just lonely in this time and starved for friendship?

I asked myself these questions over and over but could never come to any conclusions. I desperately missed having a friend to talk to – the only person I could talk to in this time was Damon himself, and no way could I share my current confused state with him.

The day after he and I decided to attend the ball together, I was reminded that there was someone else in this time who wanted to help me, after all. I was awoken as usual by Emily, who always arrived to help me dress. On this particular day, however, she looked worried.

After waking me, she rushed to the window, appeared to see something outside, then returned to my bedside.

'Miss Katherine and Mr Salvatore' - I presumed she meant Stefan – 'are walking in the grounds. We can talk,' she said urgently.

Understanding immediately, I swung myself out of bed. Katherine was usually either in her bedroom the mornings, or in Stefan's. Both were very close to my room, making more than small talk between Emily and me impossible.

'What possessed you to announce that you're attending the Founder's Ball with Damon?' Emily chastised, as she held out the dreaded corset for me to put on. 'I've rarely seen Miss Katherine that angry. Don't you think you'd better try and stay on her good side until we work out a way to get you home?'

I raised my chin slightly. 'I'm not afraid of Katherine, Emily. If Damon and I want to attend the Ball together, then we will. I'm not going to let her stop us.'

Emily stopped fussing with my corset and turned me to face her, looking grave. 'Elena, you have no idea what she can do to you. You'd do better to leave both Salvatore brothers alone.

I suddenly remembered that, although I'd told her the truth about coming from 2010, I'd left out my relationships with the Salvatore brothers and my knowledge that vampires existed. It might be time to share that knowledge. I had to trust Emily to help me.

'Emily…I wasn't completely honest with you before.' I said hesitatingly. Her expression turned ominous, but I kept going. 'In 2010…I know both the Salvatore brothers. They're some of my best friends, in fact.' I still wasn't able to be completely honest, I thought bitterly. Telling Emily I was in a relationship with Stefan wasn't likely to make her any happier with the idea of me attending the ball with Damon. Also, that was one piece of information I wanted to keep from Katherine at all costs, and that meant not sharing it with anyone.

Emily took a step back, looking shocked. 'You know?' I knew I didn't need to say any more. The fact that I knew both the brothers 145 years in the future would tell Emily that I knew the truth about vampires.

'Well in that case, what are you doing?' Emily demanded. 'You know what she can do, why are you provoking her?'

'I have a plan, Emily.' I said calmly. 'I know what I'm doing here, and if all goes well, I'll be gone in less than three weeks.' And the Salvatore brothers will be able to live out their human lives happily, I added silently.

'You have a plan? Really?' Emily sounded sceptical. I nodded. I did have a plan. OK, so it involved three weeks of waiting for the council to try and round up the vampires, and then required a whole lot of improvisation to steal a watch (that I still didn't know how to use) and save my friends, and basically had nothing to do with my going to the Founder's Ball with Damon, but it was still a plan. Sort of.

Emily opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, the slamming of a door downstairs indicated the return of Katherine and Stefan. She finished helping me dress in silence, and I headed downstairs and out of the house.

For the next few days, I had barely any time alone with Damon, nor any time to continue my conversation with Emily. Katherine seemed to have made it her personal mission to make sure Damon and I were never alone for a second. The walks we'd taken together now included Katherine and Stefan, and although outwardly sweet, Katherine shot me many poisonous little glances that made me sure she was plotting something. Despite not wanting to bow down to her, I spent an increasing amount of time reading books borrowed from Mr Salvatore's substantial collection in my room.

The day of the Founder's Ball finally arrived. I woke up with a tingle of nerves and anticipation in my stomach. Tonight I was going on what possibly amounted to a date with Damon. Tonight I was going to work out what there was between us, as well as show Katherine she couldn't win all the time.

That evening, a disapproving looking Emily helped me dress in a dark red ball gown with a full skirt that she'd somehow procured – I couldn't imagine Katherine lending it to me. I wouldn't let her style my hair, insisting on leaving it loose. I knew that Katherine would have hers in some elegant style, and I wanted to be able to look in the mirror and see something that made us look different.

'Are you sure you want to do this?' Emily asked in a low voice, as I turned to face her.

'Yes,' I said simply, holding my head high.

She sighed, but opened the door and followed me down the stairs and out the door, to where Damon, Stefan and Katherine were waiting. All three were dressed in formal clothes, but I barely glanced at Stefan or Katherine, my eyes going straight to Damon. Seeing him in the old fashioned (to me, anyway) suit made my heart beat faster and I had to take a deep breathe to calm myself.

He'd started when he saw me, and our eyes locked as Stefan stepped forward. 'You look beautiful, Elena,' he said, bowing low and kissing my hand. I barely noticed, but was somehow able to stutter my thanks, still locked in Damon's gaze. He stepped forward next.

'Elena,' was all he said as he kissed my hand, but I could feel the intensity of his stare burning my skin.

Katherine said nothing, only looked at me with the expression of one who is mildly interested. Nevertheless, something in her expression made me feel uneasy. After almost two weeks of peace, maybe she'd plotted something for tonight?

The carriage delivered the four of us to the Lockwood mansion about twenty minutes later. As I took Damon's arm to climb out of the carriage, I marvelled at the sheer size and beauty of the place. It was hard to believe that 145 years could turn this incredible house into the set of ruins in the wood that I knew it was in 2010.

The next half hour was a blur of introductions and being asked how I was enjoying my stay in Mystic Falls. It occurred to me that the townspeople were going out of their way to make me feel welcome, and I was grateful. Despite Damon's friendship, I still felt lonely and out of place here.

'_Two more weeks until you can go home,' _ I told myself firmly, then caught sight of Damon coming towards me. My stomach gave a jolt at the thought of leaving him. If my plan succeeded, I'd never see him again.

I pushed the thought out of my mind as Damon arrived by my side. 'Would you care to dance, Elena?' he asked, his eyes travelling down my body. I swallowed, hard. I couldn't allow Damon to have this much of an effect on me.

Despite that, there was no way I could reasonably refuse to dance with him, so I allowed him to take my hand and lead me onto the dance floor. I realised after a second that the dance was the same as the one we'd danced at the Miss Mystic Falls competition in 2010 and silently thanked God that it was a dance I knew. Memories of that dance, of how Damon had saved me from embarrassment, flooded my mind and I remembered how then, too, I'd felt flashes of something between myself and Damon.

During the first part of the dance, we weren't touching, but somehow the intensity of it didn't diminish. I could feel eyes on my back and knew that Katherine was probably watching us, but as I gazed into Damon's eyes, I knew that I didn't care. Then his arms were around me, and I couldn't breathe. I realised how aware I was of his touch, how it made every inch of my skin tingle, and how safe I felt in his arms. A part of me never wanted the song to end.

It did end, however. I drew in a long breath, pulling away from him, already feeling the loss of his arms around me. I could see in his eyes that it had affected him too. I was more confused than ever. What was I doing? Why was I building a relationship with Damon? Why was he getting to me this much?

Damon volunteered to get us drinks, and I gratefully went out onto the patio, needing to gather my thoughts. And that's where Katherine caught me.

She grabbed my wrist, pulling me into the shadow of the house. 'I've had enough of you,' she hissed, sounding completely unlike her usual self. 'I told you I wanted to know why you're here, and you are going to tell me. Now.'

She was trying compulsion again – I could see her pupils changing size. Protected by my necklace, I didn't break eye contact, even though I was terrified she was going to work it out any second, rip it off my neck, and leave me defenceless.

'Why. Are. You. Here? What are you trying to do?' Katherine demanded, her voice as cold as ice.

'I told you. I got here by accident. All I want is to get home.' I forced myself to sound confident.

Katherine gripped my arm so hard it felt like the bone was about to snap.

'I will find out what you're doing. And until then, you'd better leave Damon Salvatore alone, do you hear me? You don't want to find out what I can do to you.' she hissed, dropping my arm and disappearing into the house.

I leaned back against the wall, cradling my bruised right arm against my chest, breathing hard. What was I going to do?

'Elena? Is everything OK?' Damon was suddenly there, carrying two drinks and looking concerned. At the sight of my face, he left the drinks on the railing of the patio and took my hand. 'What happened?'

Despite what Katherine had just said, despite knowing that there would be consequences, I couldn't hold it together anymore. 'Katherine,' was all I could say before I flung myself at him. He hugged me tightly, stroking my back. 'What did she say to you?'

I pulled away from him. I had to pull myself together and tell him what had happened. 'She doesn't believe that I came here by accident. She thinks I'm here on purpose to somehow hurt her. And she warned me to stay away from you.'

'From me?' He looked genuinely confused.

'I don't think she wants us getting any closer.' I said grimly. 'Us coming here together…it upset her perfect little world. Maybe…we should stay away from each other from now on.' I really didn't want to do that – I hated conceding to Katherine. And looking into his eyes, which showed nothing but concern for me, I felt pain constrict my chest. How was I going to survive here for the next two weeks without my only friend?

Damon reached out and took my injured arm, gently stroking the finger shaped bruises that had already appeared. He looked directly into my eyes. 'I…don't want to stay away from you, Elena.'

'I don't either,' I said quietly, unable to stop myself.

We stared at each for a second, each unable to break the eye contact. Then he tugged gently on my arm, pulling me towards him, and his lips were on mine.

**Please review…it might spur us on to write the next chapter faster :)**


	10. Caught

**A/N: OK, so this site's being having problems for a couple of days and disabled story/review submission so we're not sure if an email actually went out when Chapter 9 went live. So if you haven't heard about an update in about a week, you probably need to read 9 too :). Thanks to everyone who managed to review despite the issues, and remember how much we love to hear your opinions! Sorry this one's a little short, but it felt like the right place to end the chapter and the next one should be up fairly soon. Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: Not ours. Unfortunately. **

**1864**

**Elena POV**

It lasted only a few seconds, but those few seconds were the sweetest I'd spent since coming to 1864. Damon wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. Unable to prevent myself, I kissed him back. Somehow, I felt that in Damon's arms I could find sanctuary from all the insanity that surrounded me. Somehow, it felt right to be here.

Then I came to my senses and pulled away.

'Damon, we can't.' My voice sounded uncertain even to me.

'Why not?' he asked quietly, although I could see in his eyes that he knew the answer. He ran one finger gently down my arm, sending shivers through my whole body.

'_Because in 2010 I'm in a relationship with your brother.' _The words hovered on the tip of my tongue. I wanted so much to be honest with him – I was so fed up of lying - but knew how much that knowledge would hurt him.

'Because if Katherine finds out, I don't even want to know what she'll do to you,' was what I said instead. 'Me, I doubt she'll hurt until she finds out what she wants to know, but you…I don't want her to hurt you.' I couldn't resist laying a hand on his cheek, gently tracing his cheekbone with my thumb.

He reached up and took my hand in his, and I realised I'd never seen so much pain in his eyes. Not even when we'd opened the tomb and he'd discovered that Katherine didn't care about him. For a second we looked at each other, and despite Stefan, despite Katherine, despite everything, I wanted nothing more than to kiss him again.

Then the front door of the house opened, shattering the moment. Damon dropped my hand abruptly, and quickly grabbed the abandoned drinks, once of which he pushed into my hand.

'Your drink, Miss Pierce,' he said, averting his eyes from my face.

'Thank you, Mr Salvatore,' I replied, trying to sound casual.

A second later, a man I vaguely recognised had exited the house. With a smile at Damon and I, loitering awkwardly on the patio, he headed off in the direction of the road.

'See how close that was?' I whispered. 'Anyone could see us and news would get back to Katherine. She's won, Damon. And I'm going to be gone in two weeks anyway. This wouldn't be smart.'

'I know, Elena.' was all he said, but the look on his face made me want to take it all back, to reach for him and say that we could be together after all, that we'd just have to be careful. I forced myself to stay quiet. This really was the best way.

With one final glance at me, he turned and headed back into the house. I leaned back against the wall, blinking tears out of my eyes. After a few seconds however, fury replaced sadness, and I followed him. Katherine was not going to have the satisfaction of watching me break down. In fact, in that moment I wanted to fight back more than I ever had before. She'd told me to leave Damon alone, and I would. But she hadn't said anything about Stefan.

Once inside, I headed straight for where Stefan and Katherine were standing in a corner, purposefully not looking either to the left or the right. I knew that even making eye contact with Damon would break me.

'Elena!' Stefan exclaimed when I arrived. He looked genuinely pleased to see me, while Katherine merely fixed me with a poisonous glare that clearly asked what the hell I thought I was doing. 'How are you enjoying the ball?' Stefan asked. 'I hope you're having a good time with my brother?'

'I am,' I replied smoothly. 'But he seems to have disappeared for the moment, and as I love this music' - I waved a hand generally in the direction of the couples dancing in the centre of the room- 'I wondered if you would dance with me. I'm sure my dear _cousin' _– I smiled sweetly at Katherine – 'won't mind if I steal you for five minutes.'

Deep down, I felt vaguely guilty for using Stefan like this, but the urge to lash out at Katherine was stronger, overwhelming both guilt and the voice in the back of my mind that was telling me exactly what a stupid idea this was.

'Of course I'll dance with you,' said Stefan immediately. Always the gentleman. 'You don't mind, do you Katherine?'

'Of course not,' she replied sweetly, saving her threatening look for me. 'You two have fun.' She turned and swept away, leaving me with a feeling of satisfaction. I'd definitely thrown her. This round had just gone to me.

Stefan led me onto the dance floor, and I tried to focus on dancing with him. There was another reason I'd wanted to do this. I'd hoped that dancing with Stefan would remind me of the amazing relationship that we had in 2010, and would help clear some of the confusion I felt.

Unfortunately, that was the exact second I caught sight of Damon, watching us from across the room. The hurt and betrayal on his face slashed through my heart like a knife. He turned and left the room, but the look on his face remained with me. I closed my eyes, focusing on Stefan's hand on my lower back, and Stefan himself, right in front of me. Stefan, my boyfriend. Stefan, who I was suppose to love.

My plan wasn't working. I was in Stefan's arms, where I'd been so many times before. I should feel comfortable, happy. Instead, I wanted nothing more than for the dance to finish so that I could follow Damon and explain that this had only been a ploy to hurt Katherine. That I'd been unable to stand by and do nothing after she'd threatened me. After she'd hurt both of us.

Finally, the dance did end. I thanked Stefan quickly and rushed off in the direction that Damon had gone. The anger that had blinded me was quickly evaporating, and I was realising exactly how much damage I might have just done. Not only had I angered Katherine, but I'd possibly just done irreparable damage to my relationship – friendship – whatever with Damon.

I knew that it shouldn't matter, that I was going to be gone soon anyway, but that didn't stop the image of Damon's face when he'd seen me dancing with Stefan from hovering in front of my eyes. I desperately searched the crowd, absently muttering excuses in response to several people who tried to start a conversation with me.

I found him outside, almost in the same spot where we'd kissed, leaning on the edge of the patio. Although he was staring out across the grounds of the Lockwood mansion, I could tell he wasn't really seeing them.

'Damon,' I said, letting my voice trail off. I had no idea what to say.

He turned, and I recoiled from the pain and anger in his eyes. 'What, Elena? You say you can't be with me because _Katherine_' he almost spat her name 'says so, so you decide that being with my brother would be just as good? You didn't even have the decency to wait a night, start staking your claim on Stefan tomorrow.'

'Damon, it wasn't like that,' I pleaded, but he cut me off.

'You have a lot more in common with Katherine than your looks, Elena.'

I flinched as if he had physically hit me, and for a second I saw remorse flit across his face. Then it was gone, and he tried to push past me, making for the house. For a moment, I considered letting him go. That last comment had cut me deeply. But I knew, deep down, that he was just hurt that yet another person seemed to have chosen his brother over him.

Taking a deep breath, and ignoring the fact that in 2010, I too had chosen Stefan, I stepped sideways, blocking him.

'Damon, I only did that to hurt Katherine.' I said in a rush. 'After you left earlier, I was…angry with her for forcing us to stay apart. For trying to control us. I wanted to fight back. There's nothing between me and Stefan.'

It felt strange to say those words. After all, there was so much between me and Stefan in my own time. But somehow, saying them caused me no pain at all. All I felt was a desperate need for Damon to forgive me.

He'd stopped trying to get past me. Taking my face in his hands, he lifted my chin so I was looking into his eyes.

'You wouldn't prefer to be with Stefan?'

I didn't even hesitate, something for which I would hate myself later. How could I lie to him? _Was _I lying to him? Or was I lying to myself? 'No, Damon. I wouldn't.'

He leaned forward and kissed me gently on the lips. Again, it felt so comfortable and just _right_ that I couldn't stop myself leaning into him and kissing him back.

I heard a noise behind us, but this time didn't pull away. I didn't care who saw us. As long as it wasn't-

'I thought,' interrupted an ice cold voice from behind us 'that I told you to leave Damon alone.'

I knew before I turned around, but I prayed it wasn't her. Anyone but her.

I turned slowly, trying to delay the inevitable, then instinctively reached for Damon's hand. As if he could protect me from this.

Standing there, arms crossed over her chest, a terrifying expression on her face, stood Katherine.

**Please review! **


	11. War

**A/N: Wow, there was definitely a huge response to Chapter 10! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! We know that some of you had questions, but believe this chapter answers quite a few of them. To everyone asking why 2010 Stefan and Damon don't remember Elena from 1864, all we can say is that you'll have to wait and see :) Hope you enjoy this chapter and please review!**

**1864**

**Elena POV **

My heart actually stopped. Despite all my bravado, despite the fact that I'd wanted to fight Katherine, to anger her, I hadn't wanted this. I hadn't wanted to drag Damon into the war between the two of us.

Damon stepped forward, trying to drag me behind him. Trying to shield me. I stood my ground. This was my fault, and I would face it.

Katherine noticed the movement. 'Trying to protect her, are we Damon?' She laughed derisively. 'As if either of you could ever stop me from doing exactly as I want.' She stepped up to Damon, staring him down. I saw the telltale movement of her pupils and cursed myself for not finding him some vervain. 'Leave us, now.'

Letting go of my hand, Damon headed back into the house, unable to resist her compulsion. I stayed where I was, trying to prevent my entire body from trembling.

Katherine turned back to face me, fire blazing in her eyes. 'It seems to me that you don't understand exactly what you're dealing with here,' she said. Her voice was completely calm, which made it all the more terrifying. 'Maybe it's time I showed you what I can do to you.'

My heart was beating again. Hard enough that I could feel each individual beat pounding against my chest. For a second, I considered giving in, begging for her forgiveness, but immediately repressed the urge. I pushed the fear away.

'Go ahead. Take a bite out of me.' I said defiantly, staring her down. 'What do you think will happen then? The people of this town aren't exactly tolerant of vampires, are they?'

Katherine stepped back, flinching as if I had slapped her. 'You…how do you know about that?' she hissed. Again, despite the fact that she still had the upper hand, I felt satisfaction fill me. I'd thrown her for the second time tonight.

I lifted my chin. 'I know a lot more about you than you know about me. And if you don't want me to go straight to the mayor with my information, you'll leave me alone.' I had no idea where any of this was coming from. All I knew was that once again, I had to choose between fight and flight. Only this time, it was flight that was impossible.

Eyes still flashing, Katherine opened her mouth to reply, but we were interrupted by the arrival of Stefan.

'There you two are! The carriages are arriving – it's time to leave. Have either of you seen Damon? He was right here, but then he just…disappeared.' he said.

Neither of us answered, still staring at each other, waiting for each other to back down. Apparently noticing the strained atmosphere, Stefan stepped forward, sliding his arm around Katherine's waist. She didn't react. I could see anger in her eyes, but it was fighting with something that looked like confusion. I felt a surge of hope in my chest. Maybe I could survive the next two weeks after all.

'Katherine? Elena? What's going on?' he asked, looking from Katherine to me in confusion.

Just like that. Katherine unfroze, turning to Stefan and gently running a finger down his arm, just as Damon had done to me earlier. Even in this situation, the memory sent a surge of heat through me.

'Nothing's the matter, Stefan. Elena and I were just…_talking_.' Katherine said sweetly, leaning forward to whisper something in his ear. A smile spread slowly across his face, and I waited for jealousy to fill me at the sight of them together. Nothing came.

'I'm sure Elena can find Damon,' Katherine went on, waving a hand in my direction. 'Why don't the two of us go and wait in the carriage?' She smiled flirtily at Stefan.

'OK, thanks, Elena,' replied Stefan, barely looking at me. He took Katherine's hand and they started towards the carriages. I didn't miss the icy look Katherine shot at me over her shoulder. The argument between us was not over. Not even close.

I stood my ground until they had passed out of sight, the collapsed to the floor, trembling. How long could I keep this up? How long could I possibly keep holding my ground against a vampire?

'Elena!' Damon came crashing out of the house and dropped to the ground beside me, putting his arm around my shoulders. 'Are you alright? What did she say to you? When she made me leave I got Stefan to come outside to the two of you. I'm so sorry Elena, I wish I could have stayed with you.'

'You were compelled, Damon. I understand.' I said, shakily. He held me tighter, pulling me close. 'We should get you some vervain, though. What if she compels you to turn against me?'

'I'll look for some tomorrow,' Damon promised. 'What did she say to you?'

I told him what had happened as quickly as I could. I didn't have it in me to dwell on it for much longer.

'So I told her that she'd have to leave me alone if she didn't want to me to expose her to the townspeople. Stefan came out before she had a chance to reply, so I don't know what she thought of that,' I finished.

Damon covered his face with his free hand, actually letting out a shocked sounding laugh.

'You think this is funny?' I demanded, trying to pull away from him.

'No! Not all, Elena,' he protested, pulling me back. 'I'm just amazed…no one ever stands up to Katherine. Not even people who don't know the truth about her. And you do it not once, but repeatedly. Even though you know exactly what she can do. I just…you're really something, Elena.'

'I didn't like watching her hurt you,' I replied honestly. It occurred to me that in both 2010 and 1864, I always felt able to be honest with Damon. Except about my relationship with his brother in 2010. I felt a wave of nausea at the thought. What if I failed to save them? When I got back, would they remember all this? Would Stefan know about what had happened between Damon and me? Would Damon?

Damon smiled and gently kissed the top of my head. 'We should go. They're waiting for us in the carriage, and I think we've both done enough to anger Katherine tonight.'

I sighed. 'I suppose we have.'

Damon took my hand as we walked back to the carriage, and held on to it. I didn't resist, in fact, I welcomed it, leaning into him slightly as we walked. I knew I would eventually have to think about what I was doing, about what this meant, but that could wait until I was in the privacy of my room.

Damon dropped my hand as we approached the carriage, turning to me with a rueful smile. 'I think it might be best if we don't…flaunt our relationship in front of Katherine for the moment. Despite what you said to her.'

I didn't reply for a second, too hung up on what he'd just said. So much for waiting until later to think about this. _Relationship_. That was how he viewed this. That was what this was. I'd known that, deep down, but this was the first time I'd heard it described as such. I was currently in relationships with both the Salvatore brothers. Just like…Katherine.

My head started spinning. I couldn't do this. I wasn't Katherine. I didn't want to be Katherine.

'Elena? Are you OK?' Damon's voice seemed to be coming from a long way away.

I pulled myself together. I'd already faced Katherine down today. I was not going to fall apart because of one little word that made me more like her.

'I'm fine,' I said as calmly as I could. 'Let's go.'

'You two took a while,' said Stefan as we entered the carriage, shooting a knowing smile at his brother.

'My fault,' Damon replied casually. 'I got talking to a few of the townspeople and made Elena wait for me.'

I nodded, trying to look as if this wasn't news to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Katherine staring at me murderously. I had a feeling that tonight, I'd gone too far. There was no way she was going to leave me alone now until she found out what she wanted to know. My necklace was no longer sufficient protection – I had to start ingesting vervain as soon as possible, or, at the very least, conceal it in other places about my person. And I definitely had to try and figure out how the watch worked. I had no idea how I was going to do that, but I needed to be as prepared as possible for the night of the massacre.

The moment we got home, I bid everyone good night and went straight to my room, lying down on the bed without even bothering to take off my ballgown. Tonight had been eventful, to say in the least. Katherine was now going to be out for my blood even more than before.

Somehow, though, my homicidal doppelganger was no longer the first thing on my mind. All I could think about what Damon, and what had happened between us that night. I knew I should stop. Break it off. It would be safer for both of us, and the smart thing to do. I was only here for two more weeks, and then I was going home, either to a world without the Salvatore brothers, or back to my relationship with Stefan. There was no logic to a relationship with Damon, none at all.

Yet somehow, I didn't want to stop. Damon had been by far the best part of this entire experience, and if I was being honest with myself, our kisses tonight were a big part of that. Being with him felt good and I couldn't deny that I did have strong feelings for him.

But what about my feelings for Stefan in 2010? Dizzy with confusion, I sat up and began to undo the fastenings on my ballgown. I needed sleep. Maybe I would wake up tomorrow and find my feelings miraculously clear. Tomorrow, I needed to be able to concentrate on other things, like somehow finding the watch. And finding some vervain to drink. And convincing Katherine not to kill me. Now that I thought about it, confused romantic feelings shouldn't really rank that high on my priority list.

I had gotten the gown off and was attempting to untie the corset (over the past two weeks I had learnt how to take off a corset, if not how to put one on) when, without so much as a preliminary knock, the door opened and Damon came in.

He blushed bright red when he saw what I was wearing and quickly averted his eyes. 'I'm sorry, Elena' he stammered. 'I would have knocked but…well I heard Katherine and Stefan coming up the stairs and I didn't want to run into them.'

'It's OK,' I said, quickly yanking a nightgown over my head. I'd finish removing the corset later. 'What's the matter?' I asked, settling down on the bed.

'Elena, don't you think we should talk about what happened tonight?' Damon asked, coming to sit on the edge of the bed.

I groaned inwardly. I didn't want to talk about it. Nevertheless, I knew we did have to.

'We can't be together, Damon,' I said, ignoring the fact that every instinct in my body wanted to lean over and kiss him. 'Not only because of Katherine, but because…I'm going to be gone soon.'

'I know that,' he said quietly. 'I know that you're leaving, and I know that it's not smart for us to be together…now. But I wanted to ask you something.'

I sat up straighter. I had a really, really bad feeling about this.

'What is it?' I asked, bracing myself.

Damon looked straight into my eyes. 'You said that in your time, you knew my brother and I. I know that you want to try and stop Stefan and I from turning, but doesn't the fact that you know us in 2010 kind of mean you're going to fail?'

'We don't know that, Damon. I'm going to do my best.' I said, relaxing a little. If that was all he wanted to ask…

'I know,' he paused. 'But if you don't manage…if I end up knowing you in 2010…what I wanted to ask you, Elena, is' – he took a deep breath – 'what's our relationship, in 2010? Are we together then? Why do you have my brother's necklace?'

My heart had stopped beating for the second time that night. I stared at Damon, unable to answer. What was the right thing to do here? Should I tell the truth? Or should I lie and become yet another person to hurt him by preferring his brother?

**Please review! And expect more action in the next chapter now that the Founder's Ball is over!**


	12. Vervain

**A/N: Thanks to all our wonderful reviewers. The response to this story has been absolutely amazing, and we love you all. Please carry on letting us know your thoughts :). Now, as we know you all want to know what Elena tells Damon, onto the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: We only own the plot. **

**1864**

**Elena POV**

I took a deep breath. I couldn't lie to him. Even knowing what this knowledge would do to him. Honesty was one thing Damon and I had between us.

'I have Stefan's necklace because…in 2010 he and I were….are together. He gave me it when we first starting dating, before I even knew the truth about him.' I said quietly, staring at the quilt on the bed because I couldn't bring myself to look him in the eye. 'I'm so sorry Damon, I didn't tell you because I didn't want to hurt you.'

He listened in silence, forcing me to look up to see his reaction. The expression on his face made me reach for him, but he scrambled backwards off the bed, out of my reach.

'I can't believe this, Elena,' he said. Although his voice was quiet, it shook slightly and I could hear the pain behind it. 'I thought….that you wouldn't lie to me. I thought….that you were the first person who didn't choose my brother.'

'Damon, I'm sorry,' I said desperately, not knowing what to do, what to say, to make this better.

'So since you've come here, you've just been using me to pass the time until you could get back to Stefan?' He was angry now, and the words exploded out of him like bullets. 'Why? You were bored? You wanted someone to help you stand up to Katherine? Why?'

'Damon, it wasn't like that….I didn't mean for this happen.' Tears were pouring down my face now, and I regretted telling the truth. I should have lied. It would've been kinder to both of us. 'I didn't expect…for things to be like this between us. In 2010, you're one of my best friends, and when I ended up here….I needed a friend, Damon.'

His face softened for an instant, then went hard again. 'So when I asked you earlier if you'd rather be with Stefan and you said no, you were lying?'

'No!' I exclaimed. My voice was shaking and I was on the verge of breaking down, a reaction that even confrontations with Katherine hadn't inspired in me. 'I didn't lie to you. When you asked, I thought I'd have to, but the truth surprised me. I told you, I didn't expect this.'

'Didn't expect what, exactly?' he asked, staring right into my eyes.

'I didn't expect…to have these feelings for you.' I said quietly. 'In 2010, you're different, Damon. Katherine's betrayal changed you. Sometimes I think there's something between us then, but not like this. Not like tonight. Damon, tonight you made me feel the happiest I've felt since I came here.'

I could see how much he wanted to believe me, and thought for a second that maybe he'd come around, that things would be OK between us. Then his face shut down, as if he'd come to a decision.

'So, the happiest you've felt since you left your relationship with Stefan behind?' he asked harshly. 'I'm sorry, Elena, but I'm not going be your substitute for my brother until you get home.'

With that, he left the room, slamming the door and leaving me staring after him in shock, tears still running down my face. I wanted to go after him, to explain, but the look on his face as he'd left stopped me. He'd looked like he never wanted to see me again. Dimly, I understood how much I must have hurt him, and the knowledge broke my heart.

I lay down then, sobbing into the pillows. I hadn't cried since coming into the past, despite everything I'd been through. Somehow, it was this fight with Damon that made me break down. Even multiple confrontations with Katherine hadn't….

Katherine. I sat bolt upright, wiping my eyes. She might be with Stefan now, but she was angry. She wanted information, and she was going to get it. She was likely to come after me. Tonight. No one would interrupt. She'd be able to figure out I was protected by my vervain necklace, remove it and interrogate me.

I scrambled off the bed, and paced around the room, pushing all thoughts of Damon out of my mind. There was nothing I could do about our fight for the moment. I had to focus on the current problem. Unfortunately, there was also nothing I could do to prevent Katherine from coming for me. All I could do was come up with a plan to implement if she did.

I looked around the room, taking in my surroundings, trying to see if there was anything I could use as a makeshift weapon. I knew I didn't stand a chance if Katherine really wanted to hurt me – which she might, as a method of getting information – but I was not going to go down without a fight.

Stalling for time, I shoved the dresser against the door, wincing at the noise it made. I could only hope that Katherine was occupied with Stefan, and wouldn't be listening. I had to laugh when this thought occurred – I couldn't believe I'd gotten to the point where I hoped my boyfriend was with someone else, particularly my homicidal doppelganger.

Remembering my struggle against Noah at school and the way I'd stabbed him with pencils – it seemed like years ago – I looked around my room again, searching for any sharp wooden object. Nothing jumped out at me. I crossed to the window and threw it open, studying the tree that stood just outside it and trying to decide if I could possibly reach out and snap off a stick. It didn't seem likely, considering how strong and sturdy each branch looked.

A noise from the hallway sent me hurtling back to the door, leaning over the dresser and pressing my ear against it.

'Good night, Stefan,' I heard Katherine call sweetly. 'I'm just going to check on Elena, and then I'll be going to bed.'

Stefan called something in reply, but I didn't hear what it was because I was sprinting back across the room to the window. I knew that the discussion between Katherine and I would have to occur sometime, but I did not intend for it to be now. It was the middle of the night. Katherine could easily overpower me. No one would be awake to come to my aid. If she came in now, there was nothing I could do.

I needed was to ingest vervain before Katherine could get to me. Not only would that protect me from compulsion, it would stop Katherine from being able to drink my blood. Of course, there were other ways she could hurt me, but I didn't dwell on them. There was nothing I could do to stop them. Damon had promised to find some vervain tomorrow. I didn't know if he would want to give me some, after the way we'd left things, but waiting was my best shot. I just had to avoid Katherine until tomorrow.

I could hear her footsteps approaching my door as I climbed out onto the windowsill. Grabbing the tree for support, I pulled myself out onto a sturdy branch, then clambered down as quickly as I could, dropping to the ground.

Once there, I realised exactly how stupid this plan had been. Yes, nothing good could have come from my staying in my bedroom and waiting for Katherine, so I'd followed my instinct to run. But what, exactly, was I supposed to do now? It was the middle of the night, and I was outside in a nightgown, completely barefoot. Katherine was a vampire. She would be able to hear my every move, and would, I knew, be able to catch me in seconds. Still, I had to try.

The first thing to do was get away from this window before Katherine reached it and saw me. With that thought, I hitched up my nightgown and ran, not knowing where I was going, only trying to put distance between myself and the window. Instead of going around the front of the house, where Damon and I usually walked, I ran around the back, where the trees were thicker, hoping they would hide me.

Pure terror spurring me on, I ran until I reached the very back corner of the Salvatore property, ducking under a clump of trees that grew up against the fence, and there I finally stopped, covering my mouth to try and hide the sound of my breathing. It was a freezing cold night, and I could feel a few drops of rain hitting my skin, but barely noticed. I kept as still as I could, straining my ears, listening for even the slightest sound that could indicate that Katherine had come after me. I couldn't hear anything, but that was most likely because I was deafened by my own heartbeat.

Nothing came. I inched nearer to the edge of the trees. Was Katherine out there somewhere, waiting for me to come out? Was she trying to terrify me as much as possible? I inched further out, but my nightgown caught on a tree root and I fell flat on my face, scraping my arm against the tree as I fell.

For a second, I simply lay there, expecting Katherine to grab me any second. Again, nothing came. Gingerly, I pulled myself into a sitting position, only then noticing the plants I'd fallen onto. The moon was full, and provided enough light for me to see the characteristic purple colour of the seeds. _Vervain. _

I hadn't expected to find any here, but supposed I really had no reason to be surprised. Giuseppe Salvatore would eventually, expose Katherine by poisoning the blood of both his sons with vervain, after all. Somehow, though, I hadn't expected it to be growing _here_, where Katherine might so easily find it. Then again, she had no reason to explore remote corners of the Salvatore property.

I stared at it for a second, unable to believe my luck. Then I uprooted a couple of plants, tore off the roots, and shoved the seeds into my mouth, not caring in the slightest about washing or diluting them first. All I cared about was ingesting this plant as quickly as I possibly could.

I forced myself to swallow the plant – it tasted disgusting undiluted – then picked several more, taking them from the edges of the patch so that it would go unnoticed, and shoved them in my pocket. It was only then that I noticed the blood running down my arm from where I'd scraped it against the tree.

My heart stopped. Blood would only bring Katherine out faster. She wouldn't be able to resist feeding on me…but wait. Why hadn't she come out yet? My arm had been bleeding for a while. Could she possibly have decided to wait until tomorrow to come after me?

Taking a deep breath, I plunged out from the little grove of trees. It had started to rain properly, and I was drenched with freezing cold water within seconds, but Katherine did not appear. I shivered, hugging myself in an attempt to keep warm – of course my arm was throbbing now that I'd noticed the cut – and debated what to do next. I apparently had a choice between staying out here all night and climbing back up to the room and hoping Katherine would not be in there.

The weather decided it for me. I had no wish to freeze to death, and started making my way back to the tree I'd climbed down, still expecting Katherine to jump out of the shadows at any second. It wasn't until I reached the tree that I worked out what her plan had been.

The window to my room was now shut, and had been, I had no doubt, locked from the inside. So that was Katherine's plan. Instead of interrogating me tonight, she was going to get revenge for my going to the ball with Damon by forcing me to stay out here all night in the freezing cold and rain, then probably come and find me in the morning.

Fury filled me, driving out the cold and fear. I'd run from Katherine tonight, yes, but now, with vervain in my blood, I was more than ready to fight back. I was not going to wait out here for her to let me in. I would find a way back inside this house. I needed to. In addition to settling this between Katherine and I, I had to speak to Damon. I had to let him know how sorry I was for not telling him about my relationship with Stefan.

_Damon. _ He was the only chance I had to get inside tonight. His bedroom, I knew, was right next to mine. Unable to believe I was really doing this, I bent to pick up some of the pebbles that lay in between the lawn and the wall of the house. Feeling very much like a character in a book or some sort of play – _Romeo and Juliet _came to mind – I flung them at Damon's window, crossing my fingers that Katherine wouldn't know what the noise was and would just put it down to someone still getting ready for bed.

Nothing happened, so, gritting my teeth against the pain throwing caused my injured arm, I tried again. This time, I could see signs of movement, and the curtain began to lift.

I took a deep breath. I knew he was angry – and hurt- but I had to hope that when he saw me trapped outside, soaking wet and bleeding, he would at least let me in. And maybe, just maybe, he would listen to me.

**Hope you enjoyed it :) Please review! **


	13. The Whole Story

**A/N: As always, thanks for the reviews and we hope you enjoy the chapter! Sorry there was a slightly longer wait, we were on holiday :) As usual, we love hearing all your thoughts and opinions, so please keep them coming! **

**1864**

**Elena POV**

I held my breath as the curtain lifted. It had just occurred to me that Katherine might be in there with Damon. She could probably have heard our fight and gone in to 'comfort' him, while really doing her bit to turn him against me. The thought made me grit my teeth with pain and jealousy.

A second later, however, Damon's face appeared at the window, staring down in complete confusion. As I breathed a sigh of relief, he caught sight of me and the expression on his face turned to hostility, making my chest constrict with pain. He couldn't really hate me, could he?

Apparently he could, as he made to drop the curtain. Panicking, but not wanting to shout in case Katherine heard, I shook my head frantically, waving my arms in an attempt to signal that I couldn't get in. I saw his eyes flick across the blood now dripping from my arm, then he sighed in resignation and nodded, pointing towards the front of the house and raising one finger in a gesture that I took to mean he would open the front door for me in a minute.

Trembling with a mixture of cold and relief, I ran round to the front of the house and waited, jumping up and down on the spot to keep warm. Damon took a while to reach the front door, and I guessed he was trying to be silent. Finally, however, he opened it.

'Thank you!' I whispered sincerely, my teeth chattering. I tried to step inside, but he blocked me, instead coming out onto the patio and shutting the door.

'What happened?' he asked in a low voice. He sounded concerned, and I hoped that maybe that was a sign that irreparable damage had not been done to our relationship.

I explained as quickly as I could. I could see a faint flicker of amusement in his eyes as I described how I'd climbed down the tree, and took it as another sign that all hope was not lost.

'I forgot!' I exclaimed after I'd related the whole story of how Katherine had locked me out. 'Eat this, quickly!' I pulled a couple of the vervain stalks from my pocket and pressed them into his hand. He stared at them.

'Vervain?' he asked, and I realised he'd probably never seen it before. I nodded.

'You found this _here?_' When I nodded again, a troubled look came into his eyes.

'My father grows vervain…?' he was talking more to himself than me. 'But _why_?' His eyes snapped from the vervain stalks to my face.

'Do you know why my father – _my father_, whom I didn't think knew anything about vampires – is growing vervain secretly?'

I didn't want to lie to him again. I couldn't. But could I tell him everything I knew? Including the fact that his own father would eventually shoot him and his brother? I couldn't do that either.

'Your father…he's on the council, Damon.' I said carefully. 'He's part of the group that will eventually round up the vampires, and I suppose he's just trying to protect himself and you and Stefan. He'll probably tell you all this himself, soon, so that you can help.' No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't keep my voice steady, and I knew that after what he'd discovered I was keeping from him earlier tonight, he wasn't going to let this go.

I was right. He reached out, cupping my chin and lifting my face – I'd been staring at the ground – so that I was looking into his eyes.

'What are you not telling me, Elena?' His voice was soft, but somehow still made me shiver. I could tell it hurt him not to trust me.

'Your father…will use the vervain to catch Katherine.' I whispered as quietly as I possibly could.

'How?' His eyes bored into me. Just a few hours ago, that gaze had made me feel special. Happy. Now I wished I could escape from it. He hadn't let go of my chin, and I hated how aware I still was of his touch.

'He'll….put it in yours and Stefan's drinks so that when Katherine feeds from either of you, she'll be exposed. She'll drink from Stefan.' I didn't want to risk being heard. My voice was now so quiet that he had to lean close to hear me, his piercing blue eyes only a few inches from my own. Again, every cell in my body wanted to close the distance between us, to kiss him, but I didn't. I could tell he was still angry with me. Distrust was practically radiating from him.

I prayed that he wouldn't question me further, but clearly tonight was not my lucky night. He did, however, drop my chin, and the skin burned where he'd touched me.

'How does he react to finding out that Stefan and I have been with a vampire? He wouldn't be very tolerant of it.' His eyes were sad, and I remembered the brothers telling me in 2010 how Stefan had wanted to confide in their father, had wanted to ask for help in protecting Katherine, but how Damon had stopped him, never quite able to trust their father.

This was the part I really didn't want to tell him, but it seemed I had no choice.

'He isn't.' I said simply. 'He does thinks she compelled you, though.'

That was it. That was all I could say. I forced myself to keep eye contact with Damon and hoped with all my might that it would be enough.

'Can we go inside now?' I asked, forcing my voice to sound casual. 'It's freezing, and I need to clean up my arm.'

Silently, he opened the door, waving me inside ahead of him. Once we'd crept upstairs, I headed for my room but, to my surprise, he gently took my uninjured arm and pulled me into his, shutting the door quietly behind us.

'Sit down,' he whispered, indicating the bed. Then, without another word, he left.

Not sure what else to do, I sat, looking around as I waited. His room was much like my own, simply furnished, with bed, dresser and desk. The only difference was a filled bookshelf in the corner. I was debating going to have a closer look at what kind of books it contained when Damon was back, carrying a bowl of water and a few strips of cloth. He put them down next to me, then, turning to the dresser, pulled out a jacket and set it round my shoulders. Still soaking wet, I clutched it closer to me gratefully.

'Thank you, Damon,' I said under my breath. He only nodded. Now that he was no longer questioning me, the memory of our fight was hanging in the air between us. He hadn't forgiven me yet, I could tell. I had the uncomfortable feeling that I deserved it – after all, I still hadn't told him the full story.

He sat down and, without so much as a word to me, pulled my injured arm from underneath the jacket and started to gently clean the wound.

'Damon, I really am sorry,' I said, figuring that I should probably use this time to explain myself. 'I never lied to you, though. I really do…have feelings for you. I didn't expect it, but-'

He bound some of the strips tightly around my arm, then looked up. 'He kills us, doesn't he?' His voice, sounded flat, and devoid of any emotion.

'What?' I asked, so stunned I forgot to whisper. He pressed his finger to his lips urgently.

'Sorry,' I was stalling, not wanting to answer the question.

'You said we turn into vampires, but Katherine is captured. So if she doesn't kill us, then someone else does.' Again, I had the sense he was talking to himself rather than me. 'It's our father, isn't it? He wouldn't be able to bear being related to anyone who sympathised with vampires.'

I didn't say anything, but knew he would be able to see the answer on my face. He stared at me for a second, then dropped my arm, pulling away.

'Were you ever going to tell me?' His voice was still flat, but the pain showed through in his eyes. 'When I told you what my father thought of me, when you met him, it never occurred to you to tell me that he would end up killing me?'

'Damon, I couldn't. I didn't know what the consequences of you knowing that much would be.' I was pleading now. It was almost impossible to keep my voice down.

'How is telling me this any worse than telling me any of the rest of it? You told me how Katherine will betray me, how my brother and I will turn, but you don't tell me about this?' I had never heard him sound so angry, ever, but behind the anger I could hear the note of betrayal in his voice, and it broke my heart.

Tears were sliding down my face yet again, and I was shaking as I reached out to him, but he moved away. 'Damon, you're right. I didn't tell you because I knew what the knowledge would do to you. I…couldn't tell you, Damon, I couldn't bring myself to hurt you that much.'

'I think you should go back to your room, Elena,' he said, not even looking at me. 'If you stay here much longer, Katherine will hear us, if she hasn't already.'

'Damon, please…' I choked on the words.

'Go, Elena.' His voice was final.

I left without another word, going straight back to my room, where I fell into bed without even changing into dry clothes. Damon's jacket still around my shoulders, I cried myself to sleep.

The next morning, after dressing with Emily's help (she kindly didn't say anything along the lines of 'I told you so' when she saw my red eyes), I came downstairs incredibly apprehensive. Damon was probably just going to ignore me. Katherine was most likely going to be surprised to see me in the house, not locked outside and wandering the grounds, and would take the first opportunity to question me. I hoped that Stefan, at least, would treat me normally, and that the presence of the brothers would prevent Katherine's questions. I'd forced myself to swallow more vervain that morning, but after the events of the night, wasn't really feeling up to a confrontation. It had occurred to me as I hid the rest of the herb under my mattress that I hadn't actually seen Damon ingest it. I could only hope that, angry as he was at me, he'd still be willing to accept my help and would take the vervain.

When I reached the dining room, I saw, to my surprise, that everyone, including Mr Salvatore, was sitting around the table. The reason for this soon became clear, however.

'Miss Pierce, it's lovely to see you again,' smiled Stefan and Damon's father, standing up as I arrived. For the first time, it occurred to me to wonder exactly what he thought of me. If he knew, or suspected, that Katherine was a vampire, what did he think I was? Did he know the truth about Katherine yet?

He kissed my hand, then waved at the man standing on his right. 'You remember Mr Jonathan Gilbert?'

I assured him that I did, and curtsied to them both, taking seat at the table when the introductions were over. I ended up opposite Jonathan Gilbert, and from this position I could see a bulge in his pocket that made my brain snap back into action.

The pocketwatch. I'd almost forgotten it, in all the drama of the past night. I still didn't know how it worked, and this was my chance. I racked my brains, trying to think of a way to find out, ignoring the discussion of the Founder's Ball that was going on around me. Why was Jonathan Gilbert here so early anyway? What were they planning?

I was pulled out of my reverie by Stefan enquiring what I'd done to my arm, which was still bandaged, courtesy of Damon.

'Oh, I-I scratched it on a tree when we were walking in last night,' I stammered. Katherine, who clearly knew exactly when I'd hurt myself, smirked at me. 'I didn't notice until I got inside.'

'I'm sorry to hear that,' Stefan said sincerely, smiling at me. I was trying hard not to look at Damon, but couldn't help noticing that although he hadn't even reacted to my presence, he was stabbing at his eggs with enough force to permanently scratch the plate.

'You should visit the apothecary,' chimed in Jonathan Gilbert. 'You could get something to clean it with. If you like, I'll show you where it after breakfast, it's on my way home.'

Despite the fact that I had serious reservations about what an apothecary would use to clean my arm with, I accepted the offer. I'd be on my own with Jonathan Gilbert. There had to be some way I could find out more about the watch.

**Please review…it helps us write faster :)**


	14. Suspicion

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, guys! Also, how amazing was last week's episode? We're still reeling from all the new information. Quick question, how many of you would be interested in an Elijah/Katherine/Klaus story set in England in the 1500s? Please let us know in a review/PM as we're toying with this idea for after this story is finished. As always, we hope you enjoy the chapter, and please take a few seconds to let us know your thoughts. A special request to those of you who have it on Story Alert :). Please let us know your views. **

**Disclaimer: Not ours. **

**1864**

**Elena POV**

After breakfast, I followed Jonathan Gilbert out of the house, still avoiding the eyes of both Damon and Katherine. Stefan smiled at me as I left, and I returned it, happy to see a friendly face, even if it was the Salvatore brother I'd barely spoken to since coming here. Once we were out in the fresh air – despite the rain the previous night, it was a sunny, clear day – I pushed all thoughts regarding last night away. This was not the time to worry about Damon and Katherine. The big night was under two weeks away. If I ever wanted to get home, I had to take this opportunity to learn as much as I could about the watch.

'How are you enjoying your stay with the Salvatores?' Jonathan Gilbert asked, breaking the silence. 'It must be nice to spend time with your cousin.'

'It is,' I lied as pleasantly as I could. I realised I was going to have to be careful here. If I said too much I could contradict the backstory Katherine and Emily had come up with I arrived, and that could cause trouble for all of us.

'How long has it been since you saw Katherine? Does she come out to Chicago often?' I wasn't sure exactly what it was that alerted me. The questions were asked causally, yet there was something in his tone that told me my answers were important. I also here just the slightest tinge of disbelief as he said the word Chicago, as if he didn't believe that I really came from there.

'No, she doesn't,' I said lightly. 'It's been a long time since I've seen Katherine.'

'How long?' he asked quickly. Slightly too quickly. That was the final confirmation I needed. It seemed the Council did indeed at least suspect the truth about Katherine, and as a relative that looked exactly like her, I was under suspicion as well. I pushed away the sudden burst of fear that rose in my chest. It was OK. I would be safe. The compass wouldn't point to me, and vervain wouldn't affect me. I'd be safe.

The tension as he waited for me to answer seemed to actually make the air vibrate. With no idea what the best thing to say here was, I opted for a vague 'Oh, a few years, at least.'

The look on his face made me realise my lack of a specific answer had probably just confirmed his suspicions. _Crap._ I needed to change the subject, fast. Needed to get it onto the pocketwatch.

'Do you happen to have the time, Mr Gilbert?' I asked, and then winced. _Really clever start to this, Elena._

He smiled, although I could still see a troubled look behind it, and pulled out the pocket watch. 'It's half past nine,' he said. He was staring at me distractedly, his eyes roving my face as if he was trying to find something that would allow him to distinguish me from Katherine.

'That's an…interesting watch, Mr Gilbert,' I said, trying to sound casual, while inwardly appalled at myself. Could I sound more ridiculous? Why hadn't I planned for something like this ahead of time? 'Could I see it?'

His eyes had widened slightly when I mentioned the watch, but he handed it over without a murmur. I realised suddenly that he was quite possibly afraid of me. What did he think of the fact that I was outside in the sun? Did the Council know about daylight rings? As I took the watch, I realised exactly how unprepared I was.

'_That's what happens when you spend too much time thinking about Damon,' _I chastised myself silently. _'Time to focus on what's really important here.' _

I examined the watch as closely as I dared, not sure what I was actually looking for. Some sort of marking that would show me how to set the date I wanted to travel to? Was the watch even a time travel device yet?

This, in hindsight, had not been my best plan, although I supposed it had been worth it, since I now knew – or thought – that the Council suspected me.

I handed the watch back, noticing how Jonathan Gilbert almost snatched it from my hand, pushing it back into his pocket as if he couldn't get it out of my sight quickly enough. Great. Apparently asking awkward questions about the watch just made me seem more suspicious.

'That's the apothecary,' he said, indicating a small building ahead with the air of someone who's glad to be able to change the subject. 'It's run by a friend of mine, a Miss Pearl.'

He continued, saying something about how she would be certain to have a poultice to clean my arm with, but I was barely listening. Pearl ran the apothecary? I'd forgotten completely about Pearl and Anna. When I'd met them in 2010, they hadn't seemed to remember me. Yet I was about to meet Pearl, it seemed. What did that mean? Did it mean that things could be changed?

My head was spinning again, as Jonathan Gilbert held open the door to the apothecary and ushered me in to a small room lined with shelves. Everywhere I looked were bottles of all shapes and sizes, full of various concoctions. None of them looked very appealing, and I resolved to throw out whatever primitive medicine I was given and rely solely on water to keep my arm clean.

'Miss Pearl's not here at the moment, I see,' Jonathan noted, looking around. Indeed, the only other person in the shop was a boy not much older than I was, clearly an apprentice.

'She's out visiting with a friend,' he spoke up, stepping forward. 'She'll be back soon if you want to wait, or I could help you.' At these words, my brain ground back into action. A friend? I knew that Katherine and Pearl had been best friends. Could Katherine be telling her all about me right now? Were they plotting against me? Or would Katherine not mention her suspicions about me to Pearl until she knew more?

Sometimes I thought the sheer number of questions cramming themselves into my brain would drive me to insanity.

'Miss Pierce here just needs something to clean a cut on her arm with,' Jonathan replied. Even in the dim light, I could see the way his eyes kept flashing towards the door – a sure sign that he wanted to get out of here.

'I'll be fine on my own, Mr Gilbert,' I said sweetly, trying to put him at ease. If I was going to have another try at figuring out the secret of the watch, it wasn't a good idea to alienate him. 'Really, if you need to go, you can. It's a very short walk home.'

He bowed and kissed my hand, as per usual, although I thought he seemed slightly more reluctant to touch me than he had before. I sighed inwardly. I was really going to have to deal with this. The Council thinking I was a vampire would only hinder my escape attempts.

I turned towards the apprentice, wanting to get out as quickly as possible, but figuring, that at this point, I probably couldn't leave without buying something.

'I scratched my arm,' I said, indicating the bandage. 'It's not too bad, but I was just wondering if you had anything to clean it with.'

'No problem,' the apprentice replied, reaching for a nearby bottle full of what looked like mud, although I guessed it was an herbal poultice. 'Use this twice a day and change the bandages when you use it.'

I thanked him, reaching into my pocket for the coins Emily had given me a few days after I'd arrived, thinking a girl with no money whatsoever would be bound to raise suspicion.

'Are you Miss Pierce's cousin from Chicago?' he asked, staring at me with interest. I nodded distractedly, focused on counting out the correct amount of money. 'You really could be her twin,' he continued. Apparently it hadn't occurred to him that I'd heard that particular line a thousand times before, and it irritated me more each time.

'I know,' I said warily, handing over the money and preparing to leave.

'Wait!' he called after me. 'Can I interest you in anything else? This new perfume? The mayor himself brought in a case of it, asked that we sell it. He brought some elixir too. Apparently it's very good at curing chills.'

I stopped short at that. The mayor had brought perfumes and elixirs into the apothecary to be sold?

I turned back, giving the apprentice my sweetest smile.

'Could I try the perfume?' I asked, holding out my wrist.

He smiled back and squirted a little on my wrist. I inhaled the smell of the perfume deeply, and there is was. Faint, but still present, I could detect the scent of vervain, mixed with that of other plants in an attempt to disguise it.

'Um, could I buy one of those bottles?' I asked, deep in thought. The apprentice was only too happy to sell me one, and a few minutes later I was walking home, still pondering the implications of what I'd just discovered.

The mayor had ensured that the vervain perfume was being sold in the apothecary. I could only assume the elixir he'd brought in also contained vervain. He was taking steps to protect the townspeople. I wondered if the vervain I'd discovered in the Salvatore garden was the only patch in town, or if every member of the Council had been growing it in secret.

I examined the little bottle of perfume closely, realising that this tiny thing was actually my only weapon against Katherine If only Jonathan Gilbert had been there to see me test it, he'd have been forced to stop suspecting me. I wondered if there was another way to show him my immunity to vervain – perhaps put on some of the perfume in front of him?

This thought led me straight back to the pocketwatch. It was clear the watch itself was no help. To learn to use it, I'd have to see Jonathan Gilbert's journals. But how? He wasn't likely to carry them around with him…they'd definitely be in his house.

It was while I was pondering this that I heard footsteps behind me. My heartbeat immediately sped up to what was becoming it's normal rate these days. Had Katherine followed me? Had Jonathan Gilbert come back to see if I really was a vampire?

Bracing myself, I spun around, holding the perfume bottle in front of me in case it really was Katherine and she looked in danger of attacking. Behind me was…

'Damon!' I exclaimed, sheepishly lowering the bottle as I realised how ridiculous I must look. 'What are you doing here?'

'I came to find you,' he said coolly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. 'In case Jonathan Gilbert left you to make your own way home, as he apparently has, I thought it might not be a good idea for you to be wandering about on your own after last night.' He shrugged slightly. 'I may not be particularly useful against, say, Katherine, but I thought you might still prefer not to be on your own.'

Without another word, he continued walking in the direction of home. I followed, struggling slightly to keep up. I was touched that, despite his clearly still being angry with me, he would go out of his way to protect me. It reminded me of the Damon I knew in 2010.

While we were together, and away from Katherine and Stefan, I knew I had to try to make things right between us, but had no idea what to say. Various apologies drifted through my head, but none of them seemed adequate. I knew that he was right, that I should have told him everything from the start. It hadn't been fair of me to tell him only half the story.

'Damon…' I let my voice trail off, putting my hand on his arm and stopping him. He looked at me for the first time, but his face was perfectly blank, betraying no emotion.

'I don't want to hear another apology, Elena,' he said quietly. 'Or is there something else you've been keeping from me? Another betrayal, maybe? My brother, this time?'

'I wanted to show you this.' I said, holding out the perfume and resolutely ignoring his questions. I'd already resolved to tell him the full story as soon as I could, but for the moment, this was more important.

'Perfume?' he asked derisively, raising his eyebrows. 'Something you plan to use to seduce my brother, seeing as you don't seem to care which of us you're with?'

'I bought it at the apothecary, Damon.' I answered, keeping my voice civil with an effort. I knew I deserved this, painful as it was. Taking a quick look around to ensure we were alone, I continued, 'It has vervain in it. The Council are preparing for their attack. All we have to do is hold out for two more weeks, and –'

'I'm sorry, _we?' _he interrupted. 'When I agreed to help you, Elena, I was under the impression that you had told me the full story. Had told me everything that I was trying to prevent from happening. How do I know that I wouldn't be better off as a vampire? It could be only Stefan you're trying to protect.' His eyes were flashing with anger, and I took an involuntary step back.

'Damon, please.' I was begging now, much as I hated to stoop to this level. 'I'll tell you everything I know, I promise. I don't think I can do this alone, the Council might think I'm a vampire because I look like Katherine and I don't even know how the watch works and I'm going to have to somehow get into Jonathan Gilbert's house so I can see his journal, or I won't be able to find out.'

I'd barely registered what I was saying, desperate to somehow convince him to help me, but Damon was now staring at me as if I'd suddenly sprouted an additional head.

'How are you going to do that?' he hissed, his eyes flicking in every direction checking we were alone. 'Break in? And what do you mean the Council think you're a vampire?'

'Jonathan Gilbert was asking me all these questions about how long it's been since I've seen Katherine and he didn't seem to believe I came from Chicago, and then when I asked to see his watch he practically snatched it away from me.' I rambled, relieved that Damon had stopped yelling and no longer looked like he never wanted to see me again.

'Elena, that's bad.' He took my arm and pulled me into the shade of a nearby building. 'If they suspect you, it's going to be hard for you to get the watch and get home, especially if you start messing around trying to save Stefan and I first. What if you get captured?'

'I won't.' I looked him straight in the eye. 'That's why I need your help, Damon. There's no way I can do this alone. And I really will tell you everything. I promise.'

He dropped my arm. 'I wish I could believe you,' he muttered, stepping away from me and rubbing his temples as if he could somehow erase the memories of our fight and what he viewed as my betrayal.

I waited silently for him to make a decision. Finally, he turned back to face me.

'I'll help you,' he said quietly. 'I can't let you do this alone. But you have to tell me everything you know, this time. No more lies.'

'I promise, Damon.' I said simply, meeting his gaze.

'OK.' He took a deep breath. 'Then let's figure out how we're going to get that journal.'

'There's only one way I can think of,' I replied, unable to believe I was really going to suggest this. 'It's in Jonathan Gilbert's house, and I don't think he'll ever bring it out. So we're going to have to break in.'

**Please review! And don't forget to leave your opinion on whether you'd want to read an Elijah/Katherine story. **


	15. The Break In

**A/N: 300 REVIEWS! We never, ever thought we'd get this many when we started. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, especially our regular reviewers, and please keep the reviews coming! They make our days, especially with exam season approaching…in other news, LAST NIGHT'S EPISODE! OMG! They better not kill Damon…that is all we will say. Also, hope everyone who watched the Royal Wedding had fun! (We're from the UK, so massive celebrations everywhere). Oh and thanks especially to everyone who answered our question! An Elijah/Katherine story is not definite, but we wanted to put the idea out there. Don't worry, this story is definitely our priority right now! Enjoy the chapter and please review! **

**Disclaimer: Don't own it. **

There was dead silence. It rang in my ears, broken only by the sound of my own heartbeat. I couldn't believe I'd just suggested that. What had I been thinking?

'You're insane,' said Damon flatly. 'We'll never pull that off. We'll have to find another way.'

Somehow, even though his words mirrored what I'd just been thinking, his refusal to even consider my idea got me angry and I automatically began to defend myself.

'There is no other way, Damon,' I said calmly. 'He'll never bring that journal out of the house. And he's not exactly going to invite me in, seeing as he thinks I'm a vampire.'

'Then I'll go in and get it.' Damon replied through gritted teeth. 'We are not breaking into that house, Elena.'

'Right, so he's going to let _you _in?' I asked sarcastically. 'Everyone in this town knew how close you and Katherine were, plus they've all seen us go to the Ball together. You're no more likely to get an invite than I am.'

'We can work out how the watch works another way,' was his next argument, although I could tell that he was beginning to give in.

'How else could we _possibly_ figure that out?' I asked, exasperated. 'Unless you want to assault Jonathan Gilbert and steal the watch, breaking in is the only possible thing we can do.'

'It's too risky!' he exploded. 'I would've thought you'd see that, considering what you've just told me. The Council already suspects you, Elena! What do you think they're going to do if they discover you breaking into the house of one of the town's founding fathers?' He was breathing hard, gesticulating wildly with his hands to illustrate his points.

'Damon, you need to calm down,' I said gently, grabbing his wrists to try and steady him. After a second, his breathing slowed and he stopped struggling against my hands.

'I'm sorry,' he said quietly. 'I just…don't want you to put yourself at risk more than you have already.'

'I have to do this,' I said, my voice as quiet as his. 'Otherwise, I'll never be able to get home. If you don't help me, I'll do it on my own.'

For a second, we stared at each other, but he didn't reply. Defeated, I dropped his wrists and made to walk away, but he stopped me with a hand on my face, gently cupping my cheek.

'I'll help you.'

We stood frozen for a moment that seemed to last eternity, then he let go.

'When do you want to do this?' His matter-of-fact, businesslike tone made it perfectly clear that even if we were working together again, we were not going to be having a relationship. Things between us were not going to be how they'd been, and deep down, I knew that was probably for the best.

I briefly considered his question, even though I already knew the answer. We had to get on with this. It didn't make sense to waste anymore time. Plus, if we waited too long, I had a feeling I might chicken out.

'Tonight.' I said, attempting to inject a note of confidence into my voice. Judging by Damon's raised eyebrows, it hadn't worked.

* * *

He did agree in the end, although, as he let me know every five minutes, he felt that the decision was against his better judgement. We spent the rest of the morning trying to come up with a plan, but unfortunately lunchtime rolled around and we had nothing specific. We were going to have to rely on improvisation.

'This is never going to work,' groaned Damon, as we headed back to the Salvatore house. We'd timed our arrival, making sure that we entered just as lunch was served in order to avoid any alone time with Katherine.

'We'll have to make it work,' I said firmly. 'We can't plan anything, we don't know where the journal is or even what kind of lock there'll be on the door. We'll figure it out when we get there.'

He didn't reply until we'd reached the house, where, to our surprise, we were greeted by only Stefan.

'Where's Katherine?' Damon asked as we sat down.

'She's with Pearl and some other friends,' said Stefan lightly, serving himself some salad. I met Damon's eyes across the table, knowing he was thinking the same thing I was. Pearl, the apothecary, would likely know all about the vervain in her latest shipment of products and was undoubtedly sharing the knowledge with Katherine. From now on, every vampire in this town would be on their guard.

'Father should be here soon, though,' Stefan continued. 'He said something about coming to eat with us before his meeting.'

'What meeting?' I asked carefully. With just under two weeks to go until the big night, it appeared things were finally starting to be set in motion.

'He's meeting with the rest of the town's founding members at the Lockwood mansion tonight,' Stefan replied casually. 'I'm not sure why, but I think he said something about discussing the possibility of more Founder's Events.'

Stefan clearly believed his father, having no reason to suspect him of lying, but I knew better. Tonight would be a major Council meeting. Maybe the meeting in which they set a date for their plan to expose and round up the vampires. Not for the first time, I wondered how much had already happened. I was fairly certain that Stefan, by this point, knew the truth of what Katherine was and was under her compulsion. However, I was equally certain that his father had not yet told him about the Council. That would happen soon, then.

Tonight's meeting, I realised, could most definitely benefit us. I turned to Stefan, but Damon asked the question first.

'So, Father's going to be out late tonight, then?' Damon, I could tell, was attempting to sound as casual as Stefan had. He almost managed, but the attempt was spoilt at the last second by a throb of excitement in his voice. He, like me, knew that if Mr Salvatore was out late, planning, Jonathan Gilbert would be too. And our job would hopefully get a whole lot easier.

'I think so,' Stefan replied. 'So we're on our own for the afternoon. You can ask him yourself though – I think that's him now.'

Sure enough, a few minutes later Mr Salvatore entered the room, greeted Stefan and I courteously, and nodded to Damon. Apparently, his disappointment at his son deserting the Confederate Army hadn't yet disappeared. Their relationship wasn't helped by the icy glance I saw Damon throw his father the second his back was turned. My heart went out to him. What must he be feeling, knowing now that his father was going to end up killing him?

That reminded me that I'd promised to tell him the rest of the story, and I felt slightly nauseated at the thought of having to tell him how Stefan had completed his transition by feeding on their father's blood – the blood of the man now sitting next to – and then forced his brother to change too. Still, a promise was a promise, and I had no intention of lying to Damon again. I owed him that.

Mr Salvatore confirmed that he would be out late at the mayor's, his eyes sweeping the table. I wondered what he was looking for, and my question was answered a moment later.

'Where's Katherine today?' he inquired, in the same tone of forced casualness Damon had used a few minutes earlier. 'It doesn't look like she's been here.'

'She's eating lunch with some friends,' Stefan replied, and I watched his father's face tighten slightly, obviously suspecting that the vampires of the town were meeting. He wasn't careless enough to display any suspicion of me, but I could feel a distinct tension in him that hadn't been there when we'd first met.

Suddenly feeling that I'd had enough of being suspected for one day, I excused myself and went up to my room. I'd only been in there for thirty seconds, however, when there was a knock on the door and Damon came in.

'So, definitely tonight, then?' he asked without preamble, sitting on the foot of my bed. I nodded.

'The only thing we need to work out is when we should leave,' I said, getting into the spirit of doing what little planning we could. 'We could either go out straight after dinner, saying we're going for a walk, and just stay out, or we could pretend to go to bed and sneak out. But if we do that, Katherine's likely to hear us…Damon?'

His eyes had slid from my face to an object lying beside me, a smile slowly spreading across his face. His jacket. It lay across my pillow and I wished I'd remembered to put it on the dresser or something before going downstairs this morning – leaving it on the pillows seemed to advertise the fact that I'd slept with it around my shoulders, keeping me warm.

He started, and seemed to snap out of his reverie. 'Sorry, Elena. I'm listening. I don't think sneaking out would work. Katherine's sure to hear us. We should go immediately after dinner.'

'OK,' I agreed, shifting slightly to block the jacket from view, although this seemed slightly pointless given that he'd already seen it.

'We may even be able to get back fairly quickly,' he pointed out. 'It gets dark early. Most of the men in this town will be at the Council meeting and everyone else will probably be inside their own homes. Jonathan Gilbert lives alone. We'll just go in, take a quick look through the journal and leave. If he's not in, this could be an easy job.'

I groaned. 'Don't say that.'

'Why not?' he asked, looking confused.

'You'll jinx it,' I replied sheepishly, embarrassed at my superstitions.

He laughed. 'Elena, don't tell me you believe-' His expression changed and he got up, creeping silently over to the door, one finger pressed to his lips.

Fear welled up in my chest, but I pushed it away firmly, silently following him. He pressed his ear to the door, then, with the air of someone bracing himself for the worst, threw it open.

There was no one there.

* * *

Damon went out into the hallway, checking up and down it briefly while I stood, frozen, in my room.

'Sorry,' he said, coming back in. 'I thought I heard something…someone stepping on that floorboard.' He indicated the one outside my room. 'It always squeaks.'

I stared at him in horror. 'You don't think it could have been…?'

'She's with Pearl,' Damon said firmly. 'Not here. She wouldn't spy on us. If she wanted to know something, she'd try and compel us.'

'She knows I'm on vervain, Damon, and she'll probably have figured out that I gave you some, too. Maybe we should postpone.' I whispered, still horror-struck. If Katherine had heard our plans, I was willing to bet she wouldn't just let us do something like this.

'Elena, she's not here.' Damon took my hand, squeezing it tightly. Despite his confident air, I could tell that he, too, was worried. 'It was probably nothing. We know that Jonathan Gilbert isn't in his house tonight. We may not get another chance.' He paused. 'Strange. An hour ago I never would have thought I'd end up talking you into this.'

I gave a shaky laugh. 'Why don't we ask Stefan if he's seen Katherine? Just to be sure that he doesn't think she's been here?'

'Good idea,' Damon smiled, heading for the stairs. 'Let's go ask him right now.'

Stefan hadn't seen Katherine, and seemed to be under the impression that she would be spending all day with Pearl, which made me slightly better about our plans. On the other hand, I was worried about she and Pearl would be discussing. Would it be just the new vervain products? Or would there also be some plan on how to deal with me?

I pushed these thoughts away, focusing on the task at hand. I spent the afternoon with Stefan and Damon, not wanting to leave them in case Emily took this opportunity to try and find out what I was up to out of Katherine's hearing.

At dinner, Damon seemed slightly tense, jumping at every small noise, and I knew that, like me, he was nervous about what we were about to do. Maybe this wasn't the best idea after all….

'_No._' I told myself firmly. '_You have to see that journal. Otherwise you won't find out how the watch works.' _

The second dinner was over, Damon jumped to his feet, apparently having decided that the best thing to do was get this over with.

'Elena, would you like to take a walk with me?' he asked politely, for Stefan's benefit.

'I'd love to,' I smiled.

'We'll see you later, brother.' Damon said, taking my hand and leading me outside into the dusk.

We walked through the grounds as quickly as we could. Although it wasn't completely dark yet, it soon would be, and like Damon, I just wanted to get this over with and go to bed, perhaps after liberally coating my door in vervain perfume in an attempt to protect against night time visits from Katherine. I shivered at the thought, and Damon pulled me slightly closer to him.

'Are you sure you want to do this?' he asked quietly.

I nodded. 'It's the only way I can think of.'

'OK,' he replied. 'And then, tomorrow, when this is all over…'

I cut him off, guessing what he was going to ask. 'Yes, Damon. I'll tell you everything I know, from start to finish. I promise.'

'Thank you, Elena,' he said softly, and the way he said my name reminded me of the way he'd said it when he'd first seen me in my Founder's Ball dress. The thought made me feel as if a warm glow was spreading across my skin.

After that we didn't talk much, focusing on the short walk across town. In what seemed like no time at all, Jonathan Gilbert's house loomed up in front of us, seeming much bigger than it did in the day time. There was no sign of anyone around.

Damon snapped into action. 'No point trying to force the door open yet, we want to see if we can get in without damaging anything. Let's try a window.'

We circled the house, checking for open windows, but came up blank.

'There's nothing for it,' I said, sounding much braver than I thought. 'We'll have to force our way in.'

Damon merely grunted in agreement, already studying a pair of shutters on the side wall of the house. He gave them an experimental tug, then turned to me.

'If you help me, I think we can get these open,' he whispered, and I hurried over to help.

A minute later, with a crash that I felt must have woken the entire town, we had the shutters open, and Damon, a look of mixed guilt and apprehension on his face, smashed the glass by hitting it repeatedly with a tree branch. Breaking in was turning out to be a lot noisier than we'd hoped, but by some miracle, no one came out to stop us. I repressed my guilt at what we were doing to Jonathan Gilbert's house. There was truly no other option.

Damon nimbly climbed through the window frame, then held out his hand to me. 'Careful, Elena, there's broken glass everywhere,' he warned.

I, however, was barely listening, too engaged in searching the yard behind us for traces of movement. This time, it had been my turn to hear a noise. However, the yard seemed completely deserted.

'Elena! Come on!' Damon hissed, and I reluctantly turned around, took his hand and allowed him to help me in.

Once inside, we took a quick look around the room. By some stroke of good luck, we were in what looked like Jonathan Gilbert's study – a place where his journal was likely to be hidden.

'Let's find it fast,' Damon muttered. 'You stay here, I'll go and search in another room.'

I grabbed his arm. 'No! We should stay together.' I wasn't entirely sure why the idea of staying here alone filled me with so much dread, but after thinking I'd heard something in the yard, no way was I going to be separated from him.

The fear in my voice made him agree, and we started to quickly search the bookshelves.

'There's a load of journals here!' Damon whispered triumphantly from across the room, indicating a row of leather bound books.

'Brilliant!' I replied, going to join him. 'Will the most recent one be here, though?'

Damon grabbed the journal on the far right, which also seemed to be the newest, and quickly flicked through it. A second later, he put it back, grabbing another.

'Nope, last year's.' he said, looking disappointed. 'And they seem to be in chronological order.'

'OK, we don't know when he invented the watch.' I whispered. 'I'll look through this one and see if there's anything helpful. You check the desk for the current one.'

Damon nodded silently, moving over to the desk. I flipped though the most recent journal we'd found feverishly, wanting badly to get out.

Nothing. No diagrams, no indications that Jonathan Gilbert had invented anything in the time span covered by this journal. I flicked through to the very back and read an entry that sent a chill coursing through my body.

'_Five more bodies found this week in the woods, drained of blood. As impossible as it is, we must begin to accept that perhaps these attacks are caused by something beyond the normal. Something supernatural.'_

'Elena!' Damon called in a low voice, interrupting my reading. 'It's here! And I've found what looks like a diagram of the watch!'

I looked up immediately, making to go over to him. However, at that moment, I saw something through the open window that made my blood run cold.

Outside the window, in the very tree we'd taken a branch from to break in, was a blackbird with a red mark on its wing.

'Damon!' I hissed, indicating the bird. 'Look!'

He looked up from the journal, and despite the fact that he'd never before believed the bird was in any way linked to Katherine, the sight of it drained all the colour from his face.

For a second, we stood there, frozen.

Then we heard the unmistakeable sound of footsteps on the patio, and a second later, the sound of a key in the front door.

**Please review! It'll help us write faster :)**


	16. A Narrow Escape

**A/N: Response to Chapter 15 was amazing! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, please keep it up! We love hearing everything you have to say. You are all amazing people :) We're sure that everyone who's reading this and writes fics themselves can understand just how much reviews mean. Hope you enjoy this chapter :)**

**Disclaimer: We own only the plot.**

'Elena! Over here!' Damon whispered urgently, snapping the journal shut. When I didn't move, frozen by terror, he grabbed my arm, dragging me towards the desk where he'd found it.

'Get under here!' he hissed, just as we heard the front door open. Finally unfreezing, I did as he said, tossing the journal I was holding onto the desk and diving under it. A second later, Damon joined me, pulling the desk chair in after us as far as it would go. I winced at the slight scraping noise it made as it slid across the floor, my mind working at top speed. Who was in the hallway? Was Jonathan Gilbert home? Or, worse, had Katherine followed us here? Was that blackbird still there? I strained my neck, trying to see past the desk chair to the window.

I gave an involuntary cry of pain as I hit my head hard against the side of the desk, which Damon immediately stifled by clapping a hand over my mouth. I could see the glare on his face despite the darkness, and attempted – not very successfully – to apologise with my eyes. Despite the possible danger of our situation, I couldn't help but notice the close proximity of his body to mine. The lack of space meant we were squashed together, and I was incredibly aware of every place where his body touched mine.

We'd apparently hidden just in time. As Damon released me, I heard the study door opening, and my entire body tensed at the sound of footsteps drawing nearer to our hiding place. The seconds seem to drag, each one stretching into years as I waited for the inevitable moment when we would be caught.

There was a chance that that wouldn't happen, I told myself firmly. There was only a small amount of space between the desk and window, it was dark, and we were partly shielded from view by the chair. Unless the person in the room actually sat down at the desk, we would probably be OK.

Unfortunately, it seemed as though the unknown visitor was doing exactly that. The footsteps continued to come nearer, and a shadow fell across the desk chair, blocking out the tiny amount of light we had. I squeezed closer to Damon, trying to stop my body from shaking, and felt him take my hand, holding it tightly in his own.

I could see a pair of feet now, clad in sturdy, practical shoes that marked them out as male, and relaxed a tiny amount. Not Katherine, then. Still, that only made this whole situation marginally better. The person paused in front of the desk, the feet facing us, so close that I could see a tiny rip in the toe of the right shoe. My heartbeat sped up to the point where I felt sure it was audible to anyone within a mile radius. I braced myself, expecting, at any second, the person to bend down and expose us.

And then what would happen? I wondered. What was the current penalty for breaking and entering?

And then…the person turned and walked away. A few seconds later, the study door opened and then closed again. And, then – unbelievably – so did the front door. For a second we could again hear footsteps on the patio, and then all was silent.

I relaxed, slumping against the back of the desk, as, for the first time in what seemed like hours, I took a breath. We sat there in silence for a few minutes, straining our ears, but no noise came. It did really seem as if whoever it was had left.

'Do you think it's safe to come out?' I breathed in Damon's ear, afraid to make more than the tiniest possible amount of noise.

'Only one way to find out,' he whispered grimly, pushing the chair away and scrambling out from underneath the desk before extending his hand towards me.

I took it, allowing him to pull me to my feet. In the moonlight that shone through the window, I could see he looked just as terrified as I felt. Beads of sweat dotted his brow and his face was paler than I'd ever seen it.

'Doesn't look like there's anyone here,' I whispered. The room was silent, and seemed exactly as we'd left it, and there was no sign of anyone outside the window. 'Who do you think that was? I couldn't see them….Jonathan Gilbert? Maybe he forgot something from the meeting and…'

'Elena…' Damon's voice came from behind me, interrupting my increasingly hysterical rambling. I whirled round, knowing that something was wrong from the sound of his voice.

'What is it, Damon?' I'd half expected to see Katherine framed in the doorway, but there was no-one there.

'That journal you were holding…Jonathan Gilbert's old one…did you drop it on the desk? Before you hid?' he asked slowly. His expression was pained, as if he was trying to put together the pieces of a very difficult puzzle.

'I think so,' I replied uncertainly. Fear had blurred the entire experience in my mind. 'I don't have it with me now, so I must've done, I suppose.'

Damon indicated the desk. 'It's not there now.'

Coming to stand before him, I scoured the desk. He was right. There was no trace of a journal, though, now that I thought about it, I _had_ dropped it there. I was almost sure of it.

I headed straight for the bookshelf where I'd found the journal in the first place, quickly checking. I hadn't left it there either.

I turned slowly back to Damon. I had a feeling I knew what he was thinking, and it wasn't good. A shiver ran up my spine as I remembered how the person had only been interested in the desk, not even reacting to the broken window right behind it.

'Elena, earlier, when we were in your room, and I thought I heard something…' Damon began. I didn't need him to finish the sentence.

'You think it was Katherine? And she heard us saying we were going to break into Jonathan Gilbert's house to look through his journal?' I was hoping against hope that that wasn't what he was going to say, that he had another explanation, but could tell that this wasn't the case even before he spoke.

'What if it was? She's curious about you, about why you're here, but she hasn't managed to get anything out of you so far. Wouldn't she want to read the journal, if only to see if she could work out why we wanted it?'

'That wasn't Katherine.' I said, my heart pounding. I needed this theory to be wrong. Needed to believe that it had been Jonathan Gilbert, coming back for something he'd forgotten. 'It couldn't have been her. It looked like a man.' But the image of the bird, outside the house right before the door had opened, lingered in my memory.

'She could have compelled someone.' Damon said quietly. 'The way they came in, took the journal and left, didn't it strike you as odd? There's a smashed window right behind the desk, and they don't even stop to look at it? If it was Jonathan Gilbert, he definitely would have reacted to it somehow. That shipment of vervain products only came in recently, there's probably plenty of townspeople who haven't bought them yet…and it probably wouldn't have been that difficult for her to get a key, there could be one hidden outside for all we know.'

He was staring at me as if willing me to come up with another argument, and I knew he didn't want this to be true any more than I did. But there was nothing else I could say.

'They didn't even stop to look at the bookshelf,' Damon continued, sounding like he was talking to himself more than me. 'She would have compelled them to check the desk first, knowing that's where the current journal would probably be…she would have asked them to take it and get out as quickly as possible.'

'Wait, Damon.' I said, something suddenly striking me. 'If the journal on the desk was the one I was reading, where is the current one?'

'Here,' said Damon, with a just a tiny trace of cockiness in his voice as he held it up. 'I held on to it when we hid…so even if Katherine was behind that, she won't have the right journal.'

'Great,' I whispered, some of my fear evaporating. The journal in Damon's hand contained details of the vampire compass – information that we did not, under any circumstances, want to reach Katherine. 'Let's just see if it explains how to use the watch to time travel, and then get out of here.'

Damon was already flicking through the pages. 'Here!' he whispered. 'It says that…'

'Wait!' I stopped his, my heart pounding in my chest, and he looked up, alarmed by the urgency in my voice. 'If Katherine sent someone to get the journal, she isn't going to want Jonathan Gilbert to come home and find it missing. She'll cover her tracks.'

'Which means she'll send the same person back in to replace the journal when she's read it.' Damon completed, the colour draining from his face. He looked back at the journal, his eyes quickly scanning the text, then replaced it on the desk. 'Let's go, I'll explain this to you when we're out of here.'

He grasped the bottom of the window frame, and after a quick glance around the yard, pulled himself out. Feeling immensely better now that we had at least accomplished what we'd set out to do, I allowed him to take my hand and help me through the window.

Once outside, we sprinted away from the house as fast as we could. Damon hadn't dropped my hand, and was pulling me through the streets, trying to force my exhausted legs to move faster. Finally, we reached the gates of the Salvatore house, both breathless and sweating despite the cold.

'Wait here,' Damon panted, stopping me just inside the gates. 'We have to calm down, appear as if we haven't been doing anything more than walking. Tomorrow Jonathan Gilbert is going to find that window, and Stefan knows we've been out all evening.'

'He wouldn't suspect us though, would he?' I felt slightly nauseous at the thought of being turned in by Stefan.

'He might,' said Damon grimly. 'Almost everybody else in town will be accounted for, either because they're at the meeting or because the rest of their family can vouch for the fact that they've been inside all evening.'

I had no response to this. We were going to have to deal with whatever happened in the morning when it came. I felt incredibly guilty for bringing Damon into this with me, although I acknowledged that deep down, I was selfishly glad that I didn't have to go through it alone.

A few minutes later, having smoothed down our clothes and hair as much as possible, we entered the house. Despite the fact that it felt like we'd been out for the entire night, it wasn't actually that late, and Stefan was still awake, reading.

'Did you two have fun?' he enquired, looking up from his book. 'Where did you go?'

'Oh..you know…just around,' Damon replied, attempting to sound nonchalant. 'We took a walk through the grounds, but it was pretty cold so we came in. Katherine back yet?'

'I haven't seen her,' Stefan shrugged. 'I'm sure she'll be back soon though.'

'OK, well, good night.' Damon said, somewhat awkwardly. I knew the feeling. After all the drama of tonight, standing here talking casually to Stefan seemed completely surreal.

After exchanging good nights, Damon and I headed upstairs.

'Do you think we're going to find Katherine waiting for us?' I muttered as we reached the upstairs landing.

Damon didn't reply, which led me to think that the answer was yes.

My heart pounding – apparently the terrifying portion of this night wasn't yet over – we pushed the door of Damon's room open.

It was empty.

A few moments later, we'd verified that my room was equally empty of supernatural visitors.

'What's she trying to do?' I whispered to Damon, collapsing on the bed. I was surprised to find that I was actually slightly annoyed. Katherine had played around with us for long enough, and I was more than ready for things to come to a head between us. Openly confronting her had to be better than this constant fear. Then again, I realised, that was probably exactly why she hadn't come forward. She was counting on torturing us for that extra bit longer by making us wait.

'She's making this into a game,' Damon replied, having apparently come to the same conclusion as me. 'We don't know when she's going to come out…she wants us to be constantly waiting for her. She's probably having the time of her life with this.'

'Wait,' I'd just noticed something lying on my pillow. A piece of paper, covered in old fashioned, slanted writing that looked vaguely familiar. I picked it up, holding it out to Damon for verification. 'Isn't this…?'

'A page from Jonathan Gilbert's journal.' Damon took it with trembling fingers. 'It was her, then. And she still has the journal.'

'But she can't do much with it, right?' I whispered. 'I mean, it doesn't have any of the information she'd want in it…that was all in the one we put back.'

'I'm sure she has a plan, but I don't think there's much we can do about it, tonight anyway.' Still looking terrified, Damon laid the page on the dresser. 'I think, unbelievable as it is, the only thing we can do now is try to get some sleep. Whatever she does, we'll need our strength to face her. Plus, I'm sure she'll be expecting us to sit up all night after finding that page.'

'You think I'm going to be able to fall asleep? _Alone?'_ I asked, appalled.

I could tell Damon wasn't exactly happy with the idea of going back to his room alone, either. An idea came into my head, and without even thinking about how it would sound, considering that it was 1864, I put it forward.

'Do you want to….stay in here tonight?' I asked hesitantly. 'I mean…just because…I don't think either of us will be able to sleep alone…'

Damon's eyes widened slightly.

'Are you sure?' he asked hesitantly. 'Wouldn't that be…?'

I cut him off before he could finish. 'Please, Damon. I really don't want to be alone tonight.'

Looking like he could hardly believe what he was doing, Damon nodded. 'I'll be back in a few minutes,' he said, heading for the door, apparently to get ready for bed. I could tell by his glance around the hallway before he left the room that he was feeling just as jumpy as I was.

The minutes until he returned felt like hours. I undressed myself as quickly as I could, my fingers trembling. I wasn't sure why a piece of paper left on my pillow was having this much as of an effect on me, but I was truly terrified. We had no idea what Katherine was planning, but she was clearly watching our every move – and wanted us to know it.

I was dressed in my nightgown when Damon knocked on the door. I called him in, feeling instantly better the moment he was inside.

He looked incredibly awkward standing in my doorway, and I had a strange urge to laugh at the difference between him and the 2010 version of himself.

'You can come in, Damon,' I said pushing back the covers on the bed.

We lay down on opposite sides of the bed, but somehow, just his presence comforted me. The exertion of the past two days – I hadn't had a chance to properly rest since the Founder's Ball – finally seemed to be catching up to me, and unbelievably, I fell into a deep sleep, lulled by the even sound of his breathing.

* * *

Sometime before dawn, I awoke feeling strangely at peace. It took me a few seconds to realise that somehow, I was now locked in Damon's arms, as I'd slept in Stefan's so many times before. Just as I had at the Founder's Ball, I felt strangely safe, despite everything that happened, and deciding for once not to fight it, I allowed myself to fall back asleep, feeling more comfortable than I would have thought possible given the events of the night.

I was rudely awoken the next morning by Emily roughly shaking me.

'What are you doing, Elena?' she hissed, sounding both shocked and appalled. I raised my head slightly only to realise that Damon's arms were still wrapped around me, the page from the journal we'd discovered the night before was in full view on the dresser, and Emily was standing beside me looking scandalised.

'Get him out of here, before Katherine finds out, if she doesn't already know!' Emily was yelling under her breath, and seemed to be simultaneously shaking Damon and trying to drag me out of bed.

Damon awoke with a start, seemed to take in the situation in an instant, and then slowly turned bright red. He scrambled out of bed and turned to face Emily, obviously preparing to defend himself.

'Go, now!' She pushed him towards the door without even giving him a chance to speak. With an apologetic glance at me, he went.

'It wasn't what you think!' I whispered to Emily, but she didn't give me a chance to speak either, instead going into a long rant about the stupidly and recklessness I was displaying, while lacing me so tightly into my corset I cried out in pain.

'Go downstairs to breakfast, and don't mention this to anyone!' she finished, pushing me out the door.

I went without a retort, grateful that she hadn't seemed to notice the journal page.

Downstairs, however, it appeared that this ordeal wasn't over. Damon was standing in the entrance to the dining room, where his father and Stefan were already eating. He shot me a panicked glance over his shoulder as I entered.

'Elena,' Mr Salvatore greeted me, kissing my hand as usual.

'Mr Salvatore,' I greeted him, sliding into a seat and shooting Damon a puzzled glance. What was going on?

'Stefan tells me you and Damon went for a walk last night,' Mr Salvatore continued, addressing me directly. 'Did you run into anyone? I only ask because there was a break in at Jonathan Gilbert's house last night.'

'A…a break in?' I said carefully, trying my hardest to sound surprised. I'd expected this – that broken window would not have gone unnoticed. 'That's terrible! Was anything taken?'

'Some personal property of Jonathan's – he's terribly upset,' said Mr Salvatore, somewhat evasively. Clearly he wanted to avoid mentioning the journal if at all possible. 'Did you see anyone? Jonathan is desperate to find the culprit and get his…property back.'

Damon, who still looked as if he were about to be sick, nudged my discreetly under the table, indicating his head towards the corner of the dining room. And that's when I saw it.

On a small table in the corner, directly behind Mr Salvatore, lay the journal we'd seen in Jonathan Gilbert's house. Even from here, I could see the initials JG inscribed on the cover.

**Please review! It'll cheer us up during the long periods of revision…. **


	17. Overheard

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews guys! We love you! Please keep them coming….enjoy this chapter :)**

**Disclaimer: Not ours. **

**1864**

**Elena POV**

The journal would have looked completely innocent lying on the table, if not for those two initials emblazoned on the cover. JG. For a second, those letters seemed to be all I could see.

I took a deep breath, blinking hard, and the room settled back into focus. Unfortunately, the journal was still there.

We needed to get rid of it before anyone else saw it. Mr Salvatore and Stefan both knew that Damon and I had been out for a walk last night. If either of them saw it, they would immediately suspect us. The stolen journal would probably confirm the council's suspicion that I was a vampire, and Damon – I swallowed hard – would be taken down as my accomplice. Somehow, we had to move that journal, but I had no idea how.

Damon, judging by the tension radiating off him, seemed to be going through the same turmoil of fear, panic and desperation that I currently was. I only hoped that he would be able to formulate a plan, seeing as I was coming up blank.

'Elena?' Mr Salvatore asked, sound slightly puzzled.

'Oh! Sorry!' I replied, starting slightly as I realised he was still waiting for an answer to his question. 'No, we didn't see anyone last night, but I hope Mr Gilbert finds his property soon.'

'I hope so too,' said Mr Salvatore seriously. 'This town will not be tolerating break-ins – the mayor has promised to do everything he can to find the culprit.'

Fear constricted my chest. What if we hadn't been careful enough to hide our tracks? I studiously avoided Damon's eyes, somehow sensing that he was doing the same to me.

Before anyone could say anything else, the door opened to reveal Katherine.

For a second, shock froze me to my chair, but the moment passed. As subtly as I could, I reached under the table to the pocket of my dress, feeling the small bulge of the vervain perfume. My only weapon.

It didn't look like I would need it for the moment, however. Katherine waltzed in, all smiles, greeting us all cheerily.

'Mr Salvatore,' she said warmly, curtseying before him. I noticed her eyes flick quickly over to the table in the corner, and a truly evil smile lit her face. 'How are you? I'm sorry I missed dinner last night.'

'That's no problem, Katherine, I did too,' Mr Salvatore answered. His tone was warm enough to match hers, but I was certain I saw a flicker of distaste in his eyes. Of course, if the Council had progressed to suspecting me, they must already be fairly sure of Katherine's being a vampire. Unless it was my presence in Mystic Falls that had thrown suspicion on the two of us? I supposed people who looked as alike as we did must seem something of a supernatural occurrence. The thought that Katherine and I might be in this together wasn't pleasant, but I pushed it away. There would be time to puzzle over this later.

Katherine had by this time taken her seat, throwing Damon and I a sweet yet somehow poisonous smile. I wondered why she hadn't pointed out the journal the second she'd walked in, and realised it was probably because she enjoyed watching us squirm. Enjoyed having all the power. Hatred rose up in me, fuelling my desire to thwart her plan by hiding the journal.

I met Damon's eyes for the first time since his father had mentioned the break-in, and was surprised to see a similar emotion in them. Apparently Katherine's recent behaviour had destroyed any residual feelings he had for her. Something deep inside me was glad that he no longer cared about Katherine, but I ignored it for the moment, focusing on my incredibly vague plan.

I stayed silent as Mr Salvatore told Katherine about the break-in, looking for any opening I could use. It came less than a minute later.

'Elena, could you pass me the eggs, please?' Stefan asked politely, having waited until Katherine had finished expressing her disbelief that anyone in this town could be so dishonest (whilst shooting knowing looks at Damon and I, of course). I lifted the plate, noting that there wasn't much egg left on it.

I leaned over to Stefan, mentally cursing the utter ridiculousness of this plan, which was going to make me look like a complete idiot. However, it was the only option that I could see, and Damon didn't appear to have any brilliant ideas.

With a flick of my wrist – I meant it to be subtle but it probably looked more like I was being electrocuted (not that anyone present would even know what that was) – I tilted the plate so that all the eggs on it slid neatly onto Stefan's plate, purposefully not looking at Damon as I did so. I knew he would probably see exactly what I was doing, and sure enough, I felt a kick under the table that expressed his disbelief at the stupidity of my plan.

'Sorry, Stefan!' I said, giving him my best smile. 'The plate must have slipped.'

'No problem, Elena,' he replied good naturedly. I said a silent thanks for the apparent inability of 1864 Stefan to notice when anything out of the ordinary was occurring.

'I was just planning on having another egg,' I said, attempting to frown. My heart was pounding in my chest. This was it. 'I'll go and see if there's any more in the kitchen.' To get to the kitchen door I'd have to walk straight round the table, going behind Mr Salvatore. From there, it should be a simple enough matter to grab the journal as I passed.

I was half out of my seat when Katherine put out a hand to stop me. 'Don't worry, cousin, I'll go.' she said. Her tone was light, but I could detect both the threat and her amusement at my attempt to thwart her plan that lay under the surface.

I opened my mouth to argue, not caring how strange it would look that we were having an argument about getting a plate of eggs, but Damon was already on his feet.

'Ladies, please,' he said with an easy grin. 'You're guests here. What are we gentlemen for? I'll go and ask the cook to make more.'

Ignoring Katherine's furious look, he was around the table before she could stop him, heading for the kitchen door. I held my breath as he passed the corner, letting his hand slide casually across the table with the journal on it, but let it out in a rush of relief as he pulled the door open. The table was empty, and he'd pulled it off gracefully – no one who hadn't specifically known what he was doing would have noticed. He'd done it much better, I grudgingly conceded, than I would have done.

'Seriously? That was your _entire_ plan? Dump a load of eggs on Stefan's plate?' Now that we'd successfully retrieved the journal - now safely in his pocket– Damon's sense of humour seemed to have come back. We were, once again, out in the grounds, a safe distance from the house.

'It worked, didn't it?' I asked, pretending to be annoyed. In reality, I knew exactly how much my plan had sucked.

'Only because I saved it at the last minute,' Damon grinned. 'If it hadn't been for me, Katherine would probably have 'accidentally' discovered the journal on her way to the kitchen and my father would probably still be questioning us now.'

'I didn't see you having any better ideas!' I retorted, unable to hold back a smile.

'You're right there,' he conceded, laughing, then his face turned serious, his hand going to his pocket. 'Now that we have this back, what are we going to do with it? If we try and hide it, Katherine'll find it. Should we destroy it?'

'Then they won't stop looking…'I said slowly. 'We have to…put it back.'

'_What?'_ Damon's look of shock turned quickly to anger. 'No, Elena. I'm not setting foot in that house, and you aren't either. You think Jonathan Gilbert's going to just sit by and let someone else break in? The whole Council's going to be on guard.'

'I don't mean go back into the actual house.' I said impatiently. 'But couldn't we leave it somewhere nearby where he could find it? That way he at least won't come here looking for it.'

Damon considered this. 'That would be a good idea,' he said finally. 'But where would we leave it? And shouldn't we wait a little before going anywhere near that house?'

'Probably,' I agreed. 'Maybe we should leave it for today….try and find somewhere tomorrow.'

'That should work,' Damon agreed. 'What do you want to do in the meantime?'

I took a deep breath. The time had come to fulfil my end of the bargain. 'Well….' I said slowly, not sure how to start this. 'I promised to tell you everything I know about what happened – will happen – here.' All I could think about was how much I didn't want to see the look on his face when he heard that his own brother forced him to turn.

Damon looked straight into my eyes. 'Elena, I can see that….it hurts you to tell me all of this. You don't have to. I shouldn't have been so angry at you for trying to protect me.'

A few days ago, his letting me off the hook would've been all I could've asked for. Now, however, after what he'd risked to help me last night, things were different.

'No, Damon,' I said, meeting his gaze. 'You deserve to know whatever I can tell you.'

Bracing myself for what I knew was going to be very hard for both of us, I told him. What would happen after his father killed him and Stefan. How Stefan would force him to turn. How they'd spend almost 150 years hating each other – until they returned to Mystic Falls and finally managed to reconcile. How hard he'd work to get Katherine out of the tomb, only to discover that she wasn't in there. And all the details of our relationship in 2010. How, although I was with Stefan, there was always something that seemed to exist between us.

By the time I'd finished, the whole story finally told, Damon was slumped down against the tree he was leaning against, eyes closed. My heart went out to him. How must it feel to hear that almost everyone you cared about would eventually betray you?

'It might not happen, Damon.' I finished earnestly, laying a hand on his arm. 'I'm going to do my best to make sure it doesn't.'

'To make sure my brother and I live out our human lives together?' Damon said quietly. 'Even if you manage to change things, how can I do that, knowing what he would have done to me if things had gone differently?'

I had no answer to that, instead leaning in towards him, letting my head drop onto his shoulder. He moved under me, and for a second I thought he was throwing me off, but then I felt his arm reach around my shoulders.

'I'm sorry, Damon,' I whispered, so quietly I wasn't sure he heard me. We stayed there, like that, for a long time.

Finally, I felt Damon straighten up, releasing me. I sat up too, trying not to think about how much I missed his arm around me.

'We have something else to do today.' His voice was quiet but steady, and I knew he was trying not to show me how much he was hurting. 'Before we work out what to do about the journal, I mean. I need to tell you how the watch works.'

In the wake of everything that had happened since last night, I'd completely forgotten the reason we'd broken into Jonathan Gilbert's house in the first place. I'd also forgotten that, by some miracle, we'd actually managed to achieve our goal.

'OK. How does it work?' I asked, determined to go along with Damon's everything-is-fine act.

'The knob on the side,' Damon indicated the knob on his own watch 'the one you said you turned to come here, that controls how far you move in time and in which direction. To go back to your own time, you move it forwards. One turn per year.'

'That's it?' I was stunned. This seemed like something we could have easily worked out without the break-in.

'Not quite,' said Damon, smiling ruefully. 'This is where it gets more complicated. The time shown controls the date. The hour hand corresponds to the month and the minute hand, the day.'

'OK…'I committed this information to memory. 'That seems straightforward enough…' On any other occasion, I knew, we would have discussed this further, working out the exact time we'd have to set it to to get me back to the right day, but Damon didn't seem to have the energy for that kind of discussion. I didn't blame him, but that didn't alter the fact that we did have other important matters to discuss.

'This journal.' I said flatly. Not point beating around the bush. 'We have to find a way to get it back to Jonathan Gilbert. If we keep it around, who knows what Katherine will do with it? And where is she, anyway?'

'I'm right behind you, cousin.' The voice came from behind me.

I turned slowly, dreading what I would see. We hadn't been careful enough, carried away by our success in getting the journal back. We should have left the grounds before talking so freely.

Katherine was standing there, hand on her hip, devious grin on her face. I wondered how long she'd been listening. How much had she heard? Had she only heard us discussing the watch, or – my breath caught in my throat – had she heard me telling Damon what I knew was soon going to happen?

'Katherine…' Damon stuttered. 'We were just…'

'I know what you were doing.' She cut him off smoothly. 'But it's about time my dear _cousin _and I spent some time together, don't you think?' She shot me a smile that made my skin crawl. 'I think the two of us should take a walk around town together. Coming, Elena?' She turned around, one finger beckoning me in a fashion that reminded me vaguely of some sort of horror film.

Damon stepped forward. 'She's not going anywhere alone with you –'

Knowing that his protests were futile – much as I appreciated them – I stepped up next to him, putting a hand on his arm to quiet him. I faced Katherine, staring her right in the eyes.

'I'd love to take a walk with you, _cousin._' I made sure the sarcasm in my voice matched hers.

'Good,' she replied coolly. She took my arm – holding tight enough to hurt me, although I didn't flinch – and started leading me towards the gates. Shooting Damon a helpless glance, I had no choice but to follow, stumbling along in her wake.

'Oh,' Katherine said suddenly, stopping in her tracks, so that I almost fell over. 'And bring that journal.'

She turned around, pulling me with her, and held her hand out to Damon. His eyes on her hand, still clamped around my arm, he had no choice but to pull it from his pocket and put it in her hand.

**It's been a really, REALLY bad day so please review and help to make it a bit better :)**


	18. Interrogation

**400 REVIEWS! THIS IS AMAZING! Please keep them coming everyone, we never thought we'd get this far, and we appreciate each and every review so much. Before you read the chapter, we just have something to clarify. We started writing this story, and planned it all the way to the end, during VD season 1. Unfortunately, some of season two contradicts our storyline, i.e. if we take season 2 into account, Katherine would have tried to capture Elena and get word to Klaus as soon as she saw her. If any of you have ever written a time travel story, we're sure you know how much work has to be put into every little detail to make sure it all works out. Bearing this in mind, trying to incorporate the season 2 plot would pretty much ruin this story, so we're just going to proceed as if it were still season 1 and we'd never heard of curses, werewolves, Klaus, or doppelgangers. Hope nobody minds this too much. Now onto the chapter! We hope you enjoy it, and please, please review! It only takes a second and will make our day :)**

**Disclaimer: Not ours. **

**1864**

**Elena POV**

My mind raced as Katherine pulled me towards the gates to the Salvatore property. How much had she overheard? She knew that Damon and I had been the ones behind the break in, that was obvious, but did she know why? She'd most likely heard us discussing the watch.

I was trying my hardest to be brave, pushing away the fear that threatened to engulf me. Katherine would gain nothing that I could see from hurting me. She most likely just wanted to talk, to find out what I knew about the Council, as well as why Damon and I had broken in. She'd threaten, of course she would, but she couldn't seriously hurt me without risking me exposing her….right? I felt the perfume bottle in my pocket bump against my leg as we walked, and felt slightly comforted.

I expected Katherine to stop before we reached the gates, but instead she pulled me straight through. Apparently we actually were going to walk though town, something that I took heart from. Town meant closer to people, who would be able to hear any pleas for help that became necessary – although hopefully they wouldn't. Then again, I realised as a new thought occurred to me, she could be taking me directly to the mayor to turn me in. She had the journal as evidence, after all.

Ironically, the very second this thought occurred, Katherine stopped, jerking me to a halt with her. We were just outside the Salvatore property, with no one in sight. I wondered if there was any chance at all that Damon had been able to follow us, but disregarded this, remembering Katherine's sensitive hearing – which, no doubt, was the reason why she felt safe enough to stop here, despite the fact that we were out in the open.

'So.' Katherine started, looking right at me, her hand still clamped around my arm. 'Not only did you ignore my instructions to leave Damon alone, last night the two of you broke into Jonathan Gilbert's house. _Don't _try to deny it,' she added sharply as I opened my mouth. 'Haven't you realised yet that you can't lie to me? I am always going to know. I know _everything _that you do, Elena. Everything.'

'I wasn't going to,' I said as steadily as I could, despite my pounding heart and shaking palms. I could not let her see how much she was getting to me. 'There wouldn't be any point. You already know all about last night, don't you? Who was your little minion?'

'You don't get to ask questions,' Katherine replied smoothly, her grip on my arm tightening just the tiniest bit. 'You're just going to tell me why, exactly, you broke in last night.' It wasn't a question so much as a command.

'So you don't know that already? So much for knowing everything I do.' My heart lifted – she obviously hadn't heard that much of my conversation with Damon.

'From your discussion with Damon, it seems that your story about you got here was true after all,' she said, her eyes narrowing. 'That doesn't explain what you were doing in that house.' Her lip curled slightly as her eyes flicked ever so quickly to the journal in her hand, and I remembered that it had nothing whatsoever about the watch in it. No wonder she had no idea why we'd broken in.

'My story _was_ true,' I lifted my chin. 'I've been telling you from the beginning. My coming here was an accident. I just want to go get home.'

'Then why are you still here? You know how to get home now, yet you show no signs of trying to get to the watch.' Katherine demanded. Then her eyes flicked downwards, focusing on my necklace. I breathed a silent sigh of relief that I'd remembered to eat another vervain stalk that morning.

'I wonder…' said Katherine thoughtfully. Then, without warning, she reached out and gave the necklace a sharp tug, jerking my neck forwards and snapping the chain. Despite the fact that I'd been half-expecting it, I couldn't help crying out in pain as the chain dug into my neck before giving way. A second later, I heard a hiss as her fingers brushed against the locket, and she dropped it as if scalded.

'I knew it,' she hissed. 'You had to have that herb somewhere on you. Let's try this again.'

She leaned towards me, staring directly into my eyes. 'Why haven't you gone home?'

'I didn't know how the watch worked,' I replied without breaking eye contact, trying to sound dazed, trying to act as though her compulsion was working. I had to get her to believe me. 'Now that I know, it's just a matter of getting the watch. I'll be leaving as soon as I can.' There were ten days until the massacre. Surely I could make Katherine believe I needed those ten days to get the watch.

For a second, she merely stared at me, and I felt hope stirring in my chest. Had it worked? Then a smile flicked across her face, causing my stomach to plummet. Anything that made her smile could not be good.

'So if all you need is the watch, I'll just go and get it right now,' she said lightly. 'It shouldn't be too hard to convince Jonathan Gilbert to lend it to me. Then I'll bring it back here and you can go home. Right now.'

'No!' The word slipped out involuntarily, before I could stop them, and I could have kicked myself. Still, I couldn't leave now. I had a plan. And….Damon. I couldn't leave him without saying goodbye.

'Aha,' Katherine said smugly, stepping backwards. 'I thought so. Not telling me the whole truth yet, are we? You've ingested vervain, then?' I didn't reply, simply staring her down. I didn't trust myself to speak. What on earth was I going to say now?

Katherine lifted my arm up so that if was in front of my face, using her other hand to catch my index finger in an excruciating grip, holding it so hard I thought it might break. 'Why did you break into Jonathan Gilbert's house last night?'

The pain was making me hazy, but I managed to hold her gaze. I'd have to tell her the truth as far as I could.

'To find out how the watch worked.' I answered, determined not to let the pain show on my face. 'We thought it would be in the journal.' I nodded at the book, now tucked underneath her arm.

'There's nothing about the watch in this journal.' Her grip tightened, as she twisted my finger slightly, stopping a millisecond before it snapped, and I couldn't hold back a gasp of pain.

'That's…the wrong one.' I stuttered. Her grip loosened again, and I continued, letting out an involuntary gasp of relief, 'That's last years. The current journal…Damon had it when whoever you compelled came in. I had been looking through that one and he must have assumed it was the current one.'

'You were in the house?' Her voice was sharp. 'But you didn't see him?'

'No.' I said shortly. It still annoyed me that we hadn't. 'We were hiding.'

For a second, I thought I saw relief on her face, and she released my hand. I couldn't help cradling the injured finger against my chest.

'You still haven't told me what it is that's keeping you here.' She looked thoughtful. 'Damon? Is he enough to make you want to give up your life in your own time?'

Again, I didn't reply. I had no idea what I could say. Possibly, the best thing I could do was allow Katherine to believe that my relationship with Damon was all that kept me here.

Suddenly, Katherine stiffened, then turned away from me. I blinked, and she was gone – but the journal was lying at my feet. I stooped to pick up my necklace, then reached for it, wondering what on earth had just happened. Why had Katherine left? Why hadn't she destroyed my necklace?

'Good morning, Miss Pierce. Out for a walk?'

Recognising the voice, I spun around. Jonathan Gilbert was walking towards me. Silently cursing, I curtsied, subtly moving as I did so that I blocked the journal from sight. How on earth was I going to talk my way out of this one?

'I'm sorry to hear about the break in at your house, Mr Gilbert.' I said politely, hoping to stall him, although I wasn't exactly sure why. A small part of me hoped that Damon would show up and once again manage to remove the journal from view, but this really wasn't likely.

'Thank you, Miss Pierce,' he said heavily. I noticed the dark shadows under his eyes, and felt the guilt rise up in my stomach. What he was going through was my fault – mine and Damon's.

'Was anything stolen?' I asked cautiously, wondering if he would be willing to telling me.

'Nothing very valuable,' he replied. Although his tone was casual, I could sense the tension in his body. It occurred to me to wonder whether or not the Council knew that vampires could only enter a human dwelling with an invitation. If they didn't, I was possibly a suspected vampire _and _a suspect in the break-in. Great.

'Just some old…writings…of mine,' Jonathan Gilbert continued. 'No value to anyone but me, really, I can't imagine why anyone else would want them.'

'That does seem strange,' I said lightly, wondering if I could convince him to take a walk with me and lead him away from the journal behind me. 'Maybe someone thought your drawings would be valuable.'

He started. 'How do you know about my drawings?' he asked sharply, and I flinched. _Crap. _I couldn't believe I'd made such a stupid error. He took a step closer, staring at me intently, and then his face froze, causing me to feel as if a cannonball had slammed into my gut.

'What's that behind you, Miss Pierce?' he asked, stepping around me. When he caught sight of the journal, the expression on his face changed, to a combination of shock and anger, then he turned back to me.

'You…' he breathed. '_You _broke in?' He was backing away now, looking terrified.

'No!' I stuttered. 'I was with Damon Salvatore all last night, you can ask him.'

'Then why is my journal – the one that was taken from my house last night – on the ground behind you? Did you drop it when you saw me coming?' Jonathan's voice was cool and steady, but his eyes, frantically searching around us for a sign of anyone else, gave him away.

'I've never seen that book before, I just found it here! I was about to have a look through it when you turned up.' I said, fully aware that I wasn't presenting a very convincing story.

I was racking my brains furiously, trying to think of something I could say, something I could do, that could alleviate at least some of the suspicion on me, but nothing was coming. Jonathan Gilbert was still staring at me, but now there was fear on his face as well as anger.

It was the fear that gave me the answer. If I couldn't prove that I hadn't broken into his house, I could at least prove to him – and indirectly, to the whole Council - that I wasn't a vampire.

'Really, Mr Gilbert,' I said, trying to sound calm. 'After you left me at the apothecary yesterday morning, I spent the rest of the day with Da-Mr Salvatore. We didn't go anywhere near your house. I didn't even spend that long in the apothecary – I only bought a poultice for my arm and this perfume.'

Plunging my hand into my pocket, I pulled out the perfume bottle, holding it out to him.

The effect was electric. Jonathan stared from the perfume to my face and back again, looking thunderstruck. Relief washed over me. For a second, I'd been worried that not all of the Council members knew about the vervain products, but apparently this was not the case. Being in possession of this perfume would have to clear me of at least some of the Council's suspicion.

'Might I…see that, Miss Pierce?' Jonathan asked hesitantly, not even bothering to make up an excuse in his eagerness to check if the perfume was indeed what he thought it was.

I handed it over without a word. He examined the bottle quickly, then pulled the lid off and lifted it to his nose to smell it. As he did so, he thumb brushed the nozzle, spraying perfume on my arm. It was well done – it could easily have looked like an accident to anyone not expecting it.

His eyes widened slightly when I didn't react in any way to the perfume touching my bare skin, and he handed the bottle back with a muttered apology.

'That's all right, Mr Gilbert,' I said with what dignity I could muster. 'And I'm very sorry that someone broke into your house last night, but it wasn't me. I've never seen that journal before in my life. Whoever the thief was, they must have decided they had no use for it and dropped it here. Here – you should take it.'

I picked it up, pushing it into his hands, wanting to get away as soon as possible, before it occurred to him that I hadn't offered any explanation for knowing about the –

'How did you know about my drawings, Miss Pierce, if you've never seen my journals before?' he enquired. _Crap._ I hadn't been fast enough. The reason I knew about his drawings, was, of course, that I'd seen them in 2010, but obviously there was no way I could say _that. _

'I – someone mentioned that you like to draw, that's all. I don't remember who, I've met so many people since I came here.' I was pulling at strings now, silently begging him to believe him.

'Elena!' The shout came from behind me, and I turned in relief. I had never, ever been so happy to hear Damon's voice before. He was sprinting towards me, but slowed when he saw my companion.

'Mr Gilbert,' he said, politely enough, although I'd seen him noticeably flinch when he saw the journal in Jonathan's hand.

Unfortunately, it looked like Jonathan had seen it too. His answering greeting was courteous enough, but I didn't like the calculating look in his eyes as he looked Damon over. He looked uncomfortably like he was putting the pieces together. Damon, however, didn't seem to have noticed. He had noticed my bright red, swollen finger, still cradled against my chest, on which bruises were already forming, and fire flashed in his eyes.

'Miss Pierce just had the good fortune to find this in the road, Mr Salvatore,' he said, holding up the journal. 'It went missing from my house last night.'

'I heard about the break-in – I'm so sorry.' Damon was still panting slightly from his run. 'It's good that you found that.'

Jonathan didn't reply, only stared at the two of us, suspicion back on his face.

'I think we should probably be going,' I said quickly. 'I'm sure lunch is almost ready by now. It was good to see you, Mr Gilbert.'

'You too, Miss Pierce, Mr Salvatore.' He bowed to me, then turned and left.

'Elena? What happened? How did he get the journal? What happened to your finger?' Damon was frantically questioning me, but I didn't reply. All I could think of was the look on Jonathan Gilbert's face when Damon had turned up. I could hear my own alibi ringing in my ears. '_I was with Damon Salvatore all last night_.' I'd known about the drawings, but hadn't been able to explain how, or who had told me about them.

Jonathan Gilbert now knew that I wasn't a vampire, and had seemed to believe that I hadn't broken into his house. Had I accidentally shifted suspicion onto Damon?

**Please review! :)**


	19. Finally

**A/N: We're back! Sorry for the wait everyone. Unfortunately, exam season is upon us, and we need good grades to secure our university places. We're definitely going to keep this fic going, but updates will probably be about once a week for a while. Also, as we near the climax of this story, chapters will become more action packed and hard to write, so we'll need the extra time to perfect them. We hope to make it worth the wait :). Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Don't worry – we will eventually cover everyone's reactions in 2010. Finally, we loved the season finale! Not sure hoe we're going to survive until September though…what were your thoughts on it? Please keep the reviews coming everyone, and we hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: The standard. Not ours. **

Damon took me back to the house – Katherine was nowhere to be seen - settled me in a chair, and wrapped my finger in a rag dipped in icy cold water, all the while keeping up his stream of concerned questions. I answered each one shortly, the pain from my finger and the guilt I felt at possibly implicating Damon mixing to create a churning sensation in my gut that occupied all of my attention.

'Elena? Are you OK? Tell me the whole story.' Damon's voice, gentle as I'd ever heard it, broke through my inner turmoil as he squeezed my shoulder gently.

There was nothing for it. I'd just have to tell him. I'd promised him honesty, after all.

'I'm sorry, Damon,' I blurted out. 'I didn't mean to, but I didn't realise what I'd done until I'd already done it, and then it was too late…'

'Woah, Elena.' Damon pressed down briefly on both my shoulders, dropping into a chair opposite me. 'You're not making any sense. I'm sure whatever it is you've done, it's nothing we can't fix. Start from the beginning.'

I took a deep breath, and tried again.

'Katherine left the diary in the road when she heard Jonathan Gilbert coming,' I began. 'He found me with it, and immediately accused me of breaking into his house last night.'

Fear was starting to mix with the concern on Damon's face. 'What did you say? Does he still think it's you?'

I shook my head frantically, quietening him. I needed to get this out quickly.

'You know he's suspected me of being a vampire for a while now, probably because of my resemblance to Katherine? Well, I told him I'd been with you since the apothecary yesterday, and got out that vervain perfume I bought,' I continued. I could feel myself starting to babble again.

'Good thinking,' Damon breathed. 'He can't possibly still think you're a vampire after seeing that.'

'I don't think he does – he sprayed some on my arm. I He was pretty surprised when nothing happened.' I smiled weakly at the memory, then continued. 'I gave the journal back, but I accidentally mentioned his drawings, and, well, I couldn't say how I knew about them, and I'd said I was with you all day yesterday, and then you turned up and…'

The colour had drained out of Damon's face. 'You think he suspects me, now.'

'I'm sorry, Damon!' I pleaded. 'I really didn't mean to let slip about the drawings. I'm sure we can fix it – we can definitely prove you're not a vampire for one, and we can think of some way to stop them thinking we broke in.'

'But we did break in, Elena,' Damon said quietly, staring straight into my eyes. 'How are we going to prove we didn't do something when actually we did do it?'

That silenced me. I thought furiously, trying to come up with something we could, but came up blank from every angle. It seemed Damon was right. We were indeed in a fairly bad position, and it was completely my fault.

I laid my hand gently on top of his, which was clenched on the arm of his chair.

'I really am sorry, Damon,' I said quietly. 'I never meant for you to be dragged into this. If you want, I'll confess to the council about the break-in. I don't want to make things harder for you.'

Damon had been staring at the floor, apparently without really seeing it, but his eyes jerked up when I offered to take the blame.

'No, Elena.' he said firmly, meeting my eyes with his own deep blue ones. 'We're in this together. And there's not too long to go, now. All we have to do is keep this up for another ten days.'

I felt the familiar stab in my gut at the thought of leaving him, but ignored it. 'That's true. The best thing we can do is probably ignore this situation and try to act normal for a few days. After the vampires are rounded up, no one will be worrying about a break-in. They'll blame everything on the vampires and leave it at that. I'll be gone, and you and Stefan will be fine – you'll be able to live normal, happy lives.' My voice cracked slightly on the last few words, surprising even me.

Damon squeezed my hand, leaning forward slightly in his chair. 'Elena, I'm not sure how happy I'll be able to be if you're not here,' he said, his voice so quiet I had to strain to hear him. There was something in his eyes I wasn't used to seeing – a sort of tenderness.

For a second, we stared at each other. Then, hardly able to believe what I was doing, I started to slowly lean towards him, closing the distance between us.

At that exact moment, the front door opened, and Stefan's voice filled the hall. 'I'm home!' he called. 'Anyone here?'

Damon and I jerked apart as if pulled by puppet strings.

'So our plan is just to act normal and do nothing?' He was obviously shaken, his voice flustered. He ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up wildly. I wasn't much better, my heart pounding in my chest, and I wasn't sure whether I was grateful to Stefan or angry with him.

'Absolutely,' I said, nodding firmly and attempting to calm myself.

Surprisingly, our plan seemed to work. Four days passed calmly, with no drama from any angle. We barely saw Katherine, who seemed to be spending all her time with Pearl (while this didn't bode well for the future, there wasn't much we could do, so we ignored it). It seemed that she really did think it was only Damon keeping me here, and had decided to wait to deal with me until after the Council implemented their plan. I wondered occasionally how clever the mayor's decision to distribute vervain via the apothecary had been – all it seemed to have achieved was put the vampires on their guard.

Giuseppe was also frequently absent from the house, spending all his time at 'meetings', which had increased since the break-in, which the Council clearly thought had been done with vampire involvement.

Damon and I were able to spend most of our time together, and although the constant fear never left me completely, I was able to enjoy it. A slight tension sprung up between following the moment in the kitchen, but it soon melted away, although neither of us referred to it or brought up our relationship again.

Then, on the fifth day after our decision – five days before what I had begun to think of as D-Day – something happened that shattered our fragile peace.

Giuseppe had eaten breakfast with us – an unusual occurrence – and had disappeared into the study after the meal, taking both his sons with him. I loitered in the garden near the house, not wanting to go out of earshot in case Katherine took this opportunity to try and question me further, and didn't have to wait long before Damon came out. Although he seemed to be in control of himself, he was pale and looked slight shell-shocked.

He took my arm, pulling me around the side of the house, out of sight of the front door.

'Damon, what…?' I began, but he pressed a finger to his lips, stopping me. He was peering around the corner of the house, and I joined him, just in time to see the door open and Giuseppe come out, striding purposefully towards the gate.

Once his father was out of earshot, Damon turned to me.

'Father just told Stefan and I about the vampires and asked us to help fight them, when the time comes,' he said, without preamble. 'He said he knows it's hard for us to believe, but he needs our help.'

I leaned back against the house, feeling winded. I'd known this was coming, but somehow the implications were only hitting me now. This was really going to happen. It was less than a week away.

'Did he say anything else?' I asked urgently. 'Anything about Katherine, or me?'

'No,' Damon replied, and relief coursed through me. 'You're right though – he does suspect Katherine. Stefan started talking about how maybe not all vampires are evil, maybe we shouldn't just assume they're all the same, and Father wouldn't even hear him out. He kept trying to tell Stefan that anything a vampire says shouldn't be believed.'

'He'll spike both your drinks with vervain,' I reminded Damon. 'In a few days time. He'll use you for the Council's plan.'

Damon merely nodded, his face tightening at my reminder of his father's imminent betrayal. I felt a twinge of regret at bringing it up.

'There's nothing we can do about it, Damon,' I said gently. 'We can't stop the Council. They'd just destroy us along with the vampires. All we can do is try to protect you and your brother.'

'I know.' Damon exhaled heavily. 'It's just…I couldn't help thinking, what if Stefan's right? Isn't this wrong? Knowing what's going to happen, and not even trying to stop it?'

'We're protecting the town - doing what's best for the townspeople.' I said, trying to ignore my own prickling conscience, which showed signs of agreeing with Damon. I couldn't ignore the fact that I wasn't – and had never been - completely comfortable with standing by and allowing this to take place. The 2010 versions of Stefan and Damon were constantly on my mind. They were vampires. They were also my boyfriend and one of my best friends. Wasn't destroying 27 people just for being vampires wrong?

Damon looked like he wanted to agree with me, but still needed some convincing. 'Elena, I know that Katherine's evil, now that I can see – now that you've helped me see – how she's been manipulating me, but Pearl? The others? You haven't met them, I know, but…'

'I have met them,' I said quietly. 'In my time, Pearl's daughter Anna decided that she wanted to revive her mother using Gilbert blood. She befriended my brother, planning to kill him for her mother. In the end she used my blood. I only survived because your brother saved me. And when all the vampires got out, they killed more townspeople. Damon, we really are doing what's best for the town. '

I shuddered as I remembered how Anna had used my blood to help her mother, and Damon flinched as I mentioned it, reaching automatically for my hand.

'OK, Elena,' he said simply, giving in. 'We'll stick to our plan.'

* * *

And that was what we did – simply tried to act normal and deflect any suspicion away from ourselves. Giuseppe must have defended his son's integrity against any suspicion, because Jonathan Gilbert left us alone, not mentioning the break-in, even though we saw him around town a few times.

As the days slipped by, I tried hard not to think about what was going to happen, knowing that there wasn't much planning I could do. I knew improvisation was going to be our best hope in the end, but that didn't stop the nausea from increasing as the day approached.

It couldn't be that hard, I told myself. I knew how to use the watch. Damon, I knew, wouldn't leave me until he was sure I'd gotten safely away, but we had to somehow keep him and Stefan out of the firing line. And get the watch. Which I still had no idea how to do.

Still. We'd manage, somehow.

My fragile optimism lasted right up until the night before the Council's plan, when something happened that effectively destroyed it.

* * *

Giuseppe, although around for once, had – understandably – been tense all day, leading to Damon and I excusing ourselves after dinner to go for yet another walk around town. I was starting to sorely miss TV and other 2010 entertainments.

'Are you ready? For tomorrow, I mean?' Damon asked as we left. I could sense the effort it was taking him to keep his voice steady.

I leaned slightly closer to him, and he put his arm around me. We'd become incredibly comfortable with each other of late, both of us drawing strength from the other one.

'As ready as I'll ever be, I think,' I answered, resolutely ignoring the butterflies in my stomach that were contradicting my optimistic words. 'I promise I'll do my best to save your human life.'

'Elena.' Something in Damon's voice made me stop, turning towards him. 'There's something I need to talk to you about.' He was staring right at me, the intensity of his gaze burning holes in my skin. I swallowed, hard. We'd spent the past week purposefully not discussing what there was between us, and I'd been wondering how long it would last.

I didn't say anything, instead just waiting for Damon to work up the courage to say whatever it was he wanted to say.

'Elena….if you save my life….you and I will never meet in 2010.' He dropped his gaze, seemingly not able to meet my eyes. 'And I know that if we fail, you'll be with Stefan in 2010, not me, but….I think….I want to have the chance to know you.'

Something strong – something that I couldn't identify - welled up inside me. Unsure whether I was feeling despair or relief, I simply reached for him, pulling him towards me.

This time no one interrupted us. Damon twined his fingers through my hair as our lips finally touched, pulling me closer. Feeling his kiss in every inch of my body, I allowed myself to melt into him. How could I leave him behind? Was he right? Should we abandon the plan? Was I even capable of leaving?

Damon's lips moved against mine, driving all thoughts out of head as, for once, I simply allowed myself enjoy the moment.

And then, yet again, that familiar voice interrupted us.

'It seems you two _still _haven't got my message.'

Katherine's cool voice came from behind me, and Damon and I broke apart, turning to face her, although he didn't drop my hand.

'Katherine.' I was impressed at how steady his voice sounded. 'I think it's about time you stopped trying to control everyone around you.

'Damon…' I started, trying to stop him. Annoying Katherine was not what we wanted to do, especially today. Somehow though, he didn't stop. Something seemed to have snapped inside him – obviously Katherine had tried to come between us one too many times.

'I'm not going to play along anymore,' Damon announced, his voice strong, 'and neither is Elena.' He slipped his arm around my waist, staring at Katherine defiantly. I was shaking with fear by this point, although I was trying my best to hide it, to stand with Damon. We were completely alone. This time, there was no escape. Katherine could do whatever she wanted with us.

'Really?' Katherine asked, a grin spreading across her face. Then, without warning, she was right in front of us. She grabbed me, jerking me away from Damon. For a second, time seemed to stop. I was hyperaware of everything – of Katherine's smiling face right in front of me, her tight grip on my arm, the look of terror on Damon's face right behind her, my own pounding heart beat.

Then, somehow, I was lying on the ground ten feet away, doubled up in pain. I'd hit the ground hard, and every part of my body seemed to hurt.

'Elena!' Damon shouted, taking a step towards me.

A second later, he was up against a tree, Katherine's hand locked around his throat.

'I told you there would be consequences if you two kept defying me,' she said. Her voice was calm, almost lazy, which somehow made it all the more terrifying. 'You want a chance to meet her in the future? Let's see how you like eternity without her.'

She drew her own wrist across her mouth, opening the vein, then shoved it, now dripping with blood, into Damon's mouth.

**So we've finally reached the big day! Sorry it jumped around a lot, but there wasn't much left to do before the Council's plan and the story was slowing down so much that we figured you'd all prefer one chapter that jumped around to several filler type ones. Please review! **


	20. Somewhere to Hide

**A/N: Wow. That is all we can say. Response to Chapter 19 was absolutely amazing, and made the first week of exams so much easier to bear. Please, everyone, keep it up. We love hearing everything you say, and to everyone who asked for Delena romance, (ie pretty much everyone) we hope you like this chapter. Please, please, keep up that level of response. **

**On another note, now that the finale has officially aired in the UK, we feel we can comment on it. We loved both the corset scene and Damon's comment to Elena about knowing him in 1864 – the latter particularly made us go crazy. Thanks to everyone who noticed it and said it made them think of this story – it means a lot to us that you would link something on the actual show with this fic. **

**So how's everybody holding up without their weekly Damon fix?**

**Disclaimer: We own only the plot. **

**1864  
Elena POV**

I watched, frozen with horror, as Damon struggled to free himself from Katherine's grip, but failed. She had her head cocked to one side, and an evil smile on her face as she forced him to drink her blood.

Her words echoed in the back of my mind. '_Let's see how you like eternity without her._' She was going to kill me, then. We'd finally gone too far. Part of me was wondering what, exactly, had brought this on. Was Katherine really that controlling? Would she kill me just for disobeying her instructions? Could jealousy take her that far?

Somehow, as I watched shove her wrist even deeper into Damon's mouth, I didn't doubt it. He groaned in pain, trying to get away from her, and the sound snapped me into action. Maybe there wasn't much I could do, but I couldn't just sit here and watch this.

Clambering to my feet, I pulled the perfume bottle out of my pocket. As dubious a weapon as it made, it had come with me everywhere over the past ten days. I held it up in front of me, finger on the nozzle, preparing to spray the perfume straight at Katherine – maybe even manage to briefly incapacitate her – when I heard another, familiar voice, from behind me.

'Katherine? What's going on?' Stefan's voice was shocked and confused, but as I turned to face him, I recognised the blankness in his eyes that accompanied compulsion.

The look on his face, however, indicated that apparently Katherine's instructions hadn't included standing by while she hurt his brother.

Katherine turned at the sound of his voice. 'Stefan!' she gasped, her control slipping for a split second as she released Damon, who collapsed, gasping, on the ground. Ignoring her, I raced to his side, dropping beside him and running my hands frantically over his back, wanting to let him know I was there but reluctant to risk speaking and drawing Katherine's attention toward us.

'What are you doing here?' Katherine had evidently pulled herself together. Her voice, although casual, almost playful on the surface, had a sharp undertone. I saw Stefan flinch at the sound.

'You said…to follow Damon and Elena….and tell you what they did.' Stefan sounded confused, Katherine's compulsion struggling with the emotions what he'd just witnessed had caused.

At this, Damon attempted to sit up, although he had to lean heavily on me, his hand resting on my shoulder. I put my arms around his waist, supporting him.

'It was…you?' he gasped at his brother. 'In Jonathan Gilbert's house…'

My eyes instinctively dropped to the ground, searching Stefan's shoes. Sure enough, my heart sank as I found what I was looking for, what I'd hoped I wouldn't see. The tell tale rip in the toe of the right shoe that marked them out as the same ones I'd seen under the desk. Stefan. It had all been Stefan.

The pieces fell together in my mind. Every time Damon and I had been alone together, Katherine had interrupted us. She'd known our every move, seemingly without even being around. She'd compelled Stefan to tell her what we were up to. Of course.

I struggled to remain reasonable as I stared at him. I knew that Katherine had compelled him, that he'd never hurt us on purpose, but somehow, I still felt betrayed by someone I loved. I pushed the feelings away. That wasn't fair, especially considering what had happened between Damon and I.

'Katherine…' Stefan said hesitatingly, ignoring his brother. 'What's going on?'

Katherine stepped up to him, her pupils dilating. 'Nothing. You will forget everything you saw here tonight,' she said, standing directly in front of us, so as to block Stefan from seeing his brother.

Stefan's face relaxed, the worry melting away. 'May I walk you home, Katherine?' he asked courteously, his face lighting up as he looked at her in a way that made me feel nauseous.

'Of course,' Katherine said sweetly, taking his arm and leading him away from us without looking back.

Once they passed out of sight, silence fell. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself as some of the tension melted out of my body. We'd survived. For the moment, anyway. For a long while, Damon and I, unable to speak, simply sat there under the tree, holding each other tightly.

'Why did she leave?' Damon asked finally. His arms were wrapped around me, a comforting source of warmth against the chilly evening breeze.

'I don't know,' I replied quietly. 'Maybe she didn't want to hurt us in front of Stefan. If she plans on turning him, he'll remember all this. Killing me in front of him would be pretty hard to explain.'

I felt a chill down my spine as I mentioned the possibility of Katherine killing me, and felt Damon's arms tighten around me in response.

'Elena…' he said quietly. 'What just happened….that means if I die with the blood in my system…I'll turn.'

'Yes, Damon.' I looked him straight in the eye, knowing that there was no point beating around the bush…especially after what he'd said right before Katherine had turned up.

'How long do I have until it passes out of my system?' he asked. Something in his voice made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. He couldn't seriously be considering turning himself just to meet me in the future…yet something about that idea warmed me from the inside.

'How much of her…blood did you drink?' I asked. The concept disturbed me so much that I had trouble forming the words.

'I don't know,' he replied. 'A lot, I think…she was bleeding badly…'

'I can't say for certain….maybe a day? A little longer?' I replied honestly, remembering how Stefan had told me that Damon's blood would pass out of Bonnie's system after about twelve hours. By the looks of it, Damon had ingested a lot more blood than she had, however. Comparing that Damon to the one sitting in front of me and remembering how I'd watched him attack my best friend sent stabs of pain through my gut, but I pushed them away. He didn't need to ever become that person. He wouldn't if we could just keep him alive through this. I was resolutely ignoring the little voice in my mind that was telling me that this was just another indication that I couldn't change anything.

'What do we do now?' he whispered. 'Go back to the house? What if Katherine comes after us?'

I shivered, not liking that idea at all. 'Do you know anywhere we could go?' I asked. 'Just until tomorrow?'

Damon was silent for a second, considering.

'I can't think of anywhere,' he said finally, sighing heavily. 'Everyone's going to be locked inside their houses – the Council will have made sure of that. I was surprised that Father didn't try to stop us from coming out.'

'We can't go home,' I said firmly. 'Katherine just threatened to murder me and turn you. Going back would be a suicide mission.'

'What do you suggest we do instead? Hide in the woods until tomorrow?' Damon asked shortly. I would have been offended by his tone, but knew that his annoyance came from our situation, not from anything I'd done.

I looked around, surveying our surroundings. There was no movement in sight. No lights. No sign of anywhere we could go. Homesickness overwhelmed me as memories of the warmth and light of my own home flooded through me.

'_One more day, Elena. Then you'll be back home, with Jenna and Jeremy and Bonnie and Caroline._' I told myself firmly, purposefully not thinking of either of the Salvatore brothers.

'Do you have any better ideas?' I asked Damon, turning towards him. Hiding in the woods didn't sound particularly safe, especially considering the number of vampires we knew lived in this town, but it seemed as if it might – unbelievably – be our best option.

He considered for a minute, than reluctantly shook his head.

I scrambled to my feet, reaching out a hand to help him up. 'Come on. We have to get away from here. Katherine could show up any minute, as soon she gets Stefan home and out of the way.' It struck me suddenly how I'd unconsciously started calling the Salvatore house 'home' and I realised ruefully that if not for the constant threat caused by Katherine's presence, I'd actually be very happy here.

I hadn't been in these woods since the night I arrived in 1864, and a few seconds after we passed into the cover of the trees, I remembered why. The trees were so thick that they blocked out the light of the moon, plunging us into pitch blackness. There was a constant sense of being watched from the shadows, although I was sure that this was just due to my paranoia. The memories of last time I'd been here, of the confusion and terror I'd felt as I ran from Katherine's carriage, haunted my every step, making me reluctant to go any further in.

'Elena?' Damon, who was slightly ahead of me, paused, turning back. 'Come on, we need to go further if we've got any chance of hiding.'

Pulling myself together, I followed. We kept going in a straight line, not wanting to get lost. Tomorrow, after all, we had to find our way out and somehow save Stefan and get the pocketwatch. The watch that would send me home.

'_This'll all be over tomorrow.' _I continued to tell myself silently. '_You can do this.'_

Eventually, Damon stopped walking, dropping to the ground by a tree and pulling me down with him.

'We'll have to stay here tonight,' he muttered looking around edgily. He clearly felt no more comfortable than I did in here. 'There's nothing else we can do.'

'Should we take turns keeping watch or something?' I whispered as I settled down beside him, instinctively leaning against his shoulder. I felt his arm come around me in response and irrationally felt better.

His laugh was short and completely devoid of any mirth. 'I'm not sure there's any point, Elena. If Katherine finds us, there's absolutely nothing we can do to stop her. All we can do is hope we make it through the night.'

He was right, although it killed me to admit it. Katherine, despite our best efforts, was winning. Although we'd try and change that tomorrow, there was nothing we could do right now except wait it out.

I shifted, trying to get comfortable. The ground was rock solid, and we were definitely going to be sore in the morning if we stayed here all night. Still, at least it wasn't wet.

'Elena.' Damon's voice pulled me from my inane thoughts, which I knew were nothing more than my attempt to distract myself from the situation at hand.

'Yes?' Even as I replied, I knew what he wanted to talk about.

'I meant what I said earlier,' he said simply. 'I think I want to have the chance to know you in the future. And now that Katherine made me drink her blood…I can't help feeling that we won't be able to change anything. But even if we can't…I think it's OK.'

'Damon.' I turned so that I was fully facing him, reaching up to cup his face between my hands. 'Don't say that. We have to try to save you and Stefan. I've told you what the next 145 years will be like for the two of you. You deserve to be able to live a normal life.'

He didn't reply. Instead, he leaned forward, and I felt his lips meet mine. I wanted nothing more than to just give in, to press myself close to him and feel safe, but instead I pulled away, breaking the kiss.

'Elena?' I couldn't see him clearly, but I could hear the hurt in his voice. 'What's the matter?'

'Damon, this isn't a good idea.' I could barely hear my voice over the pounding of my own heartbeat, but it sounded uncertain even to my own ears. 'No matter how much we want to…'

'So you want to?' His face was mere centimetres from mine, and this time there was hope in his voice that broke my heart.

'Yes,' I said simply, giving in. 'I know it's awful, I know that in 2010 I'm with Stefan, but….'

The moment I mentioned Stefan's name, I felt tension rise in the air as Damon leaned back slightly, increasing the distance between us.

'I'm sorry, Elena,' he muttered. 'I shouldn't have done that…you're with my brother…it was wrong.'

'Damon, it wasn't just you,' I said quietly, wanting desperately to make him feel better.

'Elena, even if we fail tomorrow – even if I spend the next 145 years alone, waiting to meet you – you're still going to end up with Stefan.' Damon said bitterly, attempting to pull away from me. Reluctant to let him go, I gripped his arms, stopping him. For a second, we both froze, staring at each other. Then, somehow, we were in each other arms, kissing as if glued together. I had no idea how it had happened – I only knew that I hadn't been able to stand the pain in his voice when he'd thought about me choosing Stefan.

This time, it went deeper. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer as his fingers entangled themselves in my hair. He reciprocated, pulling me onto his lap, and pressing us even tighter together, making me aware of every inch of my body that touched his. His hands pulled out of my hair, sliding down my shoulders and over my hips. I reached for the top button of his shirt, but just as my fingers brushed against it, the call of an owl shattered the silence of the night, and we sprung apart in shock, Damon rolling off me and scrambling to his feet, searching our surroundings.

I picked myself up a little more slowly, trembling slightly, fighting to control my rapid breathing and heart rate, which weren't caused entirely by shock. I tried to focus, clearing my mind. The bird I'd come to associate with Katherine was a blackbird, not an owl, but the sound had terrified me, abruptly pulling me back to reality.

'I don't think we have anything to worry about,' Damon whispered, dropping down beside me. 'Just an owl.'

'I know,' I drew in a breath shakily, leaning back against the tree trunk. 'The sound scared me, though.'

'Me too,' Damon seemed to be avoiding my eyes. 'Elena….'

'I know,' I said quickly. 'We don't have to talk about it. I'm leaving tomorrow. It would be stupid for anything to happen between us now.'

'OK,' Damon said, relief obvious in his voice. The shock had brought us both back to earth, pulling us from our temporary insanity. I crossed my arms across my chest, hugging myself tightly as if I could somehow block out the memory of what it had felt like to kiss Damon, to have his hands on me.

'We should try and get some sleep,' Damon suggested, slightly sheepishly. 'We'll need our strength for tomorrow, whatever happens.'

Agreeing, I lay down, doing my best to get comfortable, although sleep seemed a long way off. Now, without Damon's arms to comfort me, my fear at being in the forest was back. Katherine seemed to be watching me from every shadow, whilst every rustle in the branches above me was her crow. This obviously hadn't been the best idea.

I had no idea what time it was, but it felt like it had been hours since we'd left the house. Would someone be out looking for us by now? I hoped not. The idea of an innocent person falling foul of Katherine turned my stomach.

I lay there for a long time, overly aware of Damon's presence beside me, but not touching him, twitching at every little noise. I squeezed my eyes shut, determined to try and pretend I was in my bed at home, but it didn't help. A part of me wished that nothing had happened between me and Damon that night, so that we could have been comfortable together. I was sure that his arms around me would have taken away at least some of my fear, and helped me sleep.

Finally, after what felt like hours of tossing and turning, I felt him take my hand, gently squeezing it. Even then, the first rays of light were piercing the tree tops when I finally fell asleep.

When I woke, Damon lying by my side, our hands still clasped together, it took me a minute to remember where I was. Then, as I sat up, dropping Damon's had, it all came rushing back – Katherine's threats, our dash to the woods, what had happened between us there. I felt a rush of heat warm my cheeks at the memory, and took several deep breaths, trying to cool myself down.

Apparently, we had indeed made it through the night, and judging by the position of the sun in the sky, it looked like we'd slept through the morning as well.

'Elena?' Damon asked groggily, sitting up beside me. 'What time is it?'

'I don't know,' I replied. 'Afternoon, I guess. We've slept through a good part of the day.'

'What time are the Council planning to attack?' His voice was sharp now, urgent, as the events of the night before came back to him, too.

'Early evening, I think,' I replied hesitantly. 'I'm not completely sure, though.'

I saw the panic in Damon's eyes. 'Stefan…he doesn't know about any of this. We have to get back to the house.'

Scrambling to our feet, the two of us raced for the edge of the forest, not troubling about being subtle. Somehow, I felt safe from Katherine today. The Council were going to be on high alert, and as long as we made it to the safety of the town, it was unlikely Katherine could hurt us without someone coming to our aid.

Surprisingly, nothing prevented us from reaching the Salvatore house.

'Walk,' said Damon in a low voice, putting out a hand to stop me from racing through the gates. 'We need to act completely normal. Father is going to want to know where we've been since last night.'

_Crap._ With everything that had happened, I'd forgotten how long it had been since we'd left the boarding house. How on earth were we going to explain our long absence?

'Hello?' Damon called tentatively as we entered the hall, which was deserted. 'Anyone here? Father? Stefan?'

There was a pause, and then Giuseppe came in from the dining room, looking even more distracted than he had the previous night. 'Damon…Miss Pierce….good to see you,' he said vaguely, obviously not focusing on us.

'Father? Are you alright?' Damon, who obviously couldn't believe that we were getting off this lightly, moved to go over to his father, but we were interrupted by a shout from upstairs. Without another word to us, Giuseppe bolted off. With nothing more than a quick glance at each other, Damon and I followed.

I'd known from the moment we heard the noise what we would find, but that didn't stop my involuntary gasp at the scene that greeted us in Stefan's bedroom. Katherine, dressed in nothing more than her corset and slip, was lying comatose on the floor, while Stefan, half undressed, stood over her, shouting her name.

His father stood in the doorway, yelling at his son to get the Sheriff, but Stefan was protesting violently.

'She's a vampire, son! Nothing you feel for her is real!' Giuseppe was yelling. He continued, finally throwing Stefan a shirt and sending him out of the room, but I wasn't paying attention. There was only room for one thought in my mind.

It was here. D-Day had finally begun.

**Please review :) Hope you liked the chapter, especially the Delena romance. **


	21. DDay

**A/N: 500 reviews. Another amazing response. Thank you so much everyone! We can't believe we've gotten this far. 500 is such an incredible number to have reached, and thank you to everyone who helped us reach it. Sorry for the lack of review replies, but our lives currently revolve around revision. Please keep it up – we want to hear what you think, especially in these crucial few chapters. We love each and every one of you, especially those who take the time to leave multiple reviews. Hope that you are all managing to get by without the show :)**

**Disclaimer: Still not ours….. **

**1864 **

**Elena POV**

I stood transfixed, in the doorway, staring at my doppelganger, who lay comatose on the floor. Foreboding flooded my gut, though I couldn't have said exactly why. All I knew was that the vague impression of seeing what looked like my own motionless body on the floor was causing a chill to snake its way up my spine.

A second later, a confused and shocked looking Stefan barrelled past me, struggling into his shirt as he left the room. A few seconds later came the echo of his footsteps as he went down the stairs, followed by the slamming of the front door.

And then, silence.

I was aware of Damon's presence, right by my side, but he, like me, seemed unable to speak. I couldn't believe that after a month of waiting, this night had finally come.

Giuseppe's voice broke the silence. 'Elena.' It was the first time he'd ever addressed me by my first name, and the sound made my stomach plummet. This could not be good.

A second later, he'd crossed the room, holding my wrist in an iron grip. 'This has gone on long enough. Tell me the truth, now,' he said harshly, yanking on my wrist so that I turned to face him.

Damon stepped forward, taking my other hand, though his grip was very different to his father's. 'Let her go, Father. She has nothing to do with this.' His voice trembled slightly with anger, but he met his father's gaze steadily.

Before I could answer, Katherine stirred on the floor, moaning slightly. The sound briefly distracted Giuseppe, but before I could try to pull away, he'd tossed Damon a length of rope he'd somehow procured from his pocket.

'Tie her up, son.' He commanded. 'Your brother should be back soon with the Sheriff.' When Damon didn't move, he added, sighing deeply, 'I won't harm Elena, Damon, but what do you think Katherine would do to all of us if she woke up unrestrained?'

Damon, apparently seeing the logic in this, dropped my hand to kneel beside Katherine and started tying her hands together. It was beyond me what use rope would be if Katherine woke up, but I supposed it was better than nothing.

'I know you're not a vampire,' Giuseppe said flatly, turning back to me. 'I've watched you eat food spiked with vervain. Did you know about your cousin?'

'N-N-No,' I stammered, terrified. 'I….I haven't seen her in years.'

Before Giuseppe could question me further, we were interrupted by the arrival of Stefan and Sheriff Forbes. I didn't think I'd ever been so happy to see Stefan before in my life.

The Sheriff roughly pushed Damon aside, kneeling to replace the ropes binding Katherine with chains.

'You three get out of here,' Giuseppe growled, shepherding us out of the room. 'Stefan, take a weapon, go outside and help the Council. Damon, see that Miss Pierce is safe.'

'Don't take her! Please Father!' Stefan begged as he watched Sheriff Forbes restrain Katherine. Apparently, despite having brought the Sheriff, he wasn't ready give up. He turned to face his father, his eyes full of silent appeal.

I didn't miss the glare Sheriff Forbes shot Giuseppe at this, nor the way Giuseppe looked at his son as he realised that Stefan was probably ruining everything he'd done to convince the Council that both his sons could be counted on to aid them in the fight against the vampires.

I jumped as Giuseppe slammed his son up against the wall, his voice shaking with fury. 'Do you know what they'll do to you if you're branded a sympathiser? You'll be killed along with them.' He shook Stefan hard, then let go in disgust. 'If you're not going to help, stay out of this.'

Stefan, whose eyes hadn't left Katherine's face, silently left the room, heading down the stairs. Damon and I followed as one, knowing what he was about to do.

Sure enough, Stefan crashed through the door of his father's study, barely pausing for even an instant before reaching for a rifle that hung on the wall beside the desk.

'Stefan. Wait.' Damon's voice was gentle, soothing. He laid a hand on his brother's shoulder, trying to calm him, but Stefan recoiled away from the touch, spinning to face us.

'I have to save her, Damon.' His voice was manic, and he was breathing hard, as if trying to stave off a panic attack. He was gripping the rifle in his hand so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. 'I have to.'

'Stefan. Listen to me.' Damon tried again. 'She was manipulating you. You don't really love her, Stefan. She's being using you to spy on us. I know it's hard, but you have to believe me. It's better for you this way.'

Stefan seemed to be calming down slightly – his breathing eased as he looked at his brother, and his grip on the rifle relaxed. I felt a cautious sense of relief, but tried not to get my hopes up. There was no way it could be this easy.

Damon, who also seemed to have dropped his guard somewhat, stepped back from his brother, indicating me. 'You should listen to what Elena has to say, Stefan. She can explain this to you.' He glanced at me, somewhat questioningly. I nodded. At this point, Stefan deserved to hear at least part of the truth.

Apparently, drawing attention to me had been a mistake. The second Stefan's eyes landed on my face – so like Katherine's – I saw the fury come back into them.

'This is your fault, isn't it?' He took a step towards me, his voice low and threatening. Damon moved forwards, attempting to put himself in between me and his brother, but Stefan pushed past him. 'Katherine never trusted you. When you came it worried her.'

'Stefan, I didn't cause this, I promise you.' I pleaded, trying to reason with him, although I knew deep down it probably wouldn't be much use. He had loved – or thought he loved – Katherine, and after what he'd just seen, I knew I couldn't blame him for being terrified and confused.

Just then, we heard a commotion in the hallway behind us, and the three of us turned to see Giuseppe and the Sheriff carry Katherine outside between them, her face now covered by some sort of muzzle. Stefan gave an involuntary cry of pain and followed, still clutching the rifle.

The moment his brother was gone, Damon's arms were round me. 'Are you ok?' he whispered. I could feel his lips moving against the top of my head.

'I'm fine,' I replied, my voice shaking slightly at the memory of the look in Stefan's eyes as he'd advanced towards me. I couldn't stop myself from leaning into Damon, hugging him back. 'We need to stop him. If he tries to release Katherine, he's going to get himself killed.'

'I know, Elena.' I felt his nod against my scalp. 'I'll go and get him…convince him to come back somehow. You wait here. You'll be safe – you said none of the vampires can come in unless one of us invites them. I'll make sure that Stefan's safe.'

I pulled out of Damon's arm, staring at him in horror. 'I'm coming with you!' I said, as firmly as I could. 'Or you'll get yourself killed too, or had you forgotten that part?'

The look in his eyes told me what I needed to know. 'Damon….you can't seriously let yourself be turned just for….me.' My voice was so quiet that I wasn't sure at first if he'd heard.

'You wait here, Elena. I'll be back soon,' was all he said before sprinting out of the room. A second later, I heard the sound of a key turning. He'd locked me in.

Fury surged through me, drowning out the terror I'd felt since we'd returned to this house as I cursed Giuseppe for leaving the key to his study in the door. I couldn't just sit here. In 2010, when Stefan was being tortured by the tomb vampires, Damon had tried to stop me from helping in the rescue attempt, and had ended up needing me. I definitely wasn't going to stand by and wait, when he might need me again.

'What kind of idiot lets himself become a vampire on purpose knowing what's going to happen?_' _I fumed silently, as I examined the study window, grateful for the experience provided to me by our recent foray into breaking and entering. I was steadfastly ignoring the warmth that filled the pit of my stomach every time I thought of how Damon had said he was willing to go through 145 years of pain just to meet me. Part of me knew it wasn't my decision to make but still – he shouldn't have to go through that. It would be far better if we stuck to our original plan.

I grabbed Giuseppe's desk chair, wincing slightly at its weight, and swung it at the window behind the desk. My first swing served only to crack the crack the glass, but the impact of the collision jarred painfully through my body. Gritting my teeth, I raised the chair a second time, swinging it as hard as I could. This time, the window shattered, tiny pieces of glass flying everywhere. I ducked instinctively, managing to protect my face from the worst of it, although my wrists and forearms stung badly from several small cuts.

Ignoring this, I gingerly hoisted myself through the window frame, dropping to the ground outside and immediately breaking into a run for the gates.

* * *

It was already dark outside, and the wind tore at my skin, making my cuts sting worse, but I barely noticed as I left the grounds of the Salvatore house. Despite the late hour, people were everywhere, and there was carnage everywhere I looked. The Council, were everywhere, carrying pitchforks, rifles and chains. Jonathan Gilbert stood in the centre, watch in hand, shouting directions. It seemed everywhere I looked a vampire was being dragged off.

My conscience pricked me. I hadn't expected to feel anything, had expected to be able to save the Salvatore brothers and then walk away. But now that I was here….could I really stand by and let this happen? Did these vampires deserve to spend the next century and a half rotting in a tomb if we failed tonight?

Pulling myself from my thoughts, I searched the masses desperately, needing to find Damon before it was too late, but there was no sign of him. I sprinted through the town, staying the shadows, avoiding the Council and finally spotted both Salvatore brothers on the edge of the wood, standing by what looked like a carriage. Even from this distance, I could sense Damon's frustration, could see it in his movements, in the way he kept trying to get his brother to leave with him.

It hit me suddenly. Stefan had told me Katherine had been locked in the carriage, along with several other vampires, ready to be taken to the church. He and his brother had gone to free her….and that's when they'd been shot.

There was no time to think. I made the connection, and then I was sprinting. I came a halt, gasping beside them, clutching at Damon's sleeve.

'Elena! What are you…?' Damon's eyes were wide with shock.

'You need to move. Now. We all do.' I panted, cutting him off. 'Now, Damon!'

He hesitated, but only for a split second.

'She's right, Stefan. 'Let's go. We can discuss this when we're not out in the open.' Damon turned to face his brother, only to discover that Stefan had taken advantage of our moment of distraction to shove a key into the lock on the carriage, yanking the door open. Katherine lay just inside it, still bound, only her eyes visible above the muzzle. Stefan reached for her, pulling her out.

'Where did you get that key?' I gasped, while Damon simply attempted to wrestle his brother away from the carriage. The two of them fell to the ground, Stefan still holding Katherine in his arms. Ignoring both my question and Damon, he reached for her face, fingers searching for a way to undo the muzzle.

I'd been standing there, frozen in shock, but the sight of Stefan trying to free Katherine snapped me out of it. 'Damon! I gasped. 'We have to go!'

Damon disentangled himself from his brother, taking my offered hand and scrambling to his feet, but before we could take even a step, a gunshot shattered the night, following by a strangled cry. Damon immediately dropped to the ground, pulling me with him, trying to use his own body to protect me from danger.

I leaned around him, trying to see what had happened, even though part of me was sure I already knew. Sure enough, Stefan had crumpled to the ground, blood leaking from a wound in his chest. Even though I knew he'd come back in a few hours, my heart sank like a stone. We'd failed. Despite our best efforts, we hadn't been able to prevent Stefan from turning. Tears welled up in my eyes. The sight of my future boyfriend – someone I loved – lying there, dying, tore me apart.

And if Stefan had been shot...that meant….I braced myself for the second shot, for the pain that would come with the knowledge that I'd failed to save Damon, too. But it didn't come.

'Father?' Damon's voice was full of shock and revulsion as he rose to his feet to greet the shooter: Giuseppe, who was now striding towards us, rifle in hand, flanked by various men I vaguely recognised. Even though he'd known what his father was going to do, it was clear that the reality of it had still shocked him. I scrambled to my feet as well, moving to Damon's side.

'I had to,' Giuseppe stated flatly, his voice completely devoid of any emotion. 'He was a sympathiser, Damon. He chose the vampires over his family.' His voice softened. 'I saw you trying to stop your brother, son. I know you tried to help us.'

Damon looked as if he was simultaneously fighting off tears and the urge to strangle his father. Instinctively, I moved closer to him, reaching for his hand.

_Bang. _

My stomach exploded with pain, and I sank to the ground. '_What? No!_' my subconscious was screaming at me. This wasn't meant to happen. I wasn't meant to have been hurt. If I died here, in 1864...what did that mean? My thoughts swirled in my head, becoming less and less comprehensible as pain took over. My abdomen felt like it was on fire. Barely conscious, I slumped on the ground.

'Elena? ELENA!' I could feel Damon shaking me, but it seemed as if his voice was coming from a long way away. 'You're going to be fine, I promise, I'll find a way to help you….' His voice broke as he reached for my hand, squeezing it tightly. 'Father, _why? _She wasn't a vampire, she had nothing to do with this!'

'Leave her, son.' It took all the strength I had to raise my head a few inches off the ground, but I was able to see Giuseppe towering over me, his voice ice cold. 'She may not be a vampire, but she was something supernatural. There's no way she could have looked so like Katherine otherwise.'

He pulled Damon roughly to his feet, physically dragging him away. I could see Damon doing his best to resist, and in the end it took the strength of three Council members to hold him.

White spots were starting to dot my vision, and every breath felt like I was drawing sandpaper into my lungs, but I struggled with all my might to hold onto consciousness. I had to keep going. Damon would find a way to come back for me. I knew it. Giuseppe pointed at Katherine will his rifle, addressing a guard who stood with him who I hadn't noticed before.

'Put her back in the carriage and take them to the church.' He ordered harshly. The rifle swung round, its butt now pointing at me. 'Leave her where she is, do you hear me?'

The guard nodded, kneeling by Katherine's body and adjusting the muzzle, which Stefan had almost pulled off.

'Hold on, Elena!' I heard Damon yell as his father pulled him away.

I closed my eyes, trying with all my strength to hold on to the memories I had of him, to remember what it had felt like when he kissed me in the woods. He would come back. I had to believe it.

'Well, looks like I'm going to get my way after all, doesn't it, _cousin_?' The familiar, poisonous voice came from above me, and with a huge effort, I wrenched my eyes open.

Katherine stood above me, no longer bound, a triumphant smile spreading across her face.

'Thank you,' she said sweetly, turning to the guard, who now held the muzzle and chains that had restrained her. 'I knew you'd come through for me.'

It hit me then, realisation cutting through my pain-fogged mind. Pearl had told Damon that Katherine had had one of the guards under her spell – that she'd convinced him to free her in exchange for a promise to turn him. I'd forgotten that one detail, and that mistake had probably just cost me my life.

'Go to hell, Katherine,' I said, with as much venom as I could muster. Unfortunately, my voice sounded pitifully weak, even to me.

'I don't think so.' She leaned towards me, still smiling. 'I intend to leave this town. Unfortunately, though, I think there are some people who would notice that I was missing, and we don't want that.'

She passed her wrist across her mouth, opening a vein, then shoved her arm into my mouth.

I tried to resist, I really did. But her blood filled my mouth, choking me until I had no choice but to swallow it. The effect was immediate. The pain receded, my mind thankfully clearing. Unfortunately, with clear thought came overwhelming terror. I had vampire blood inside me. If I died now, I would turn.

When Katherine was satisfied that she'd healed me, she stood back, towering over me on the ground.

'Take her,' she commanded the guard, her voice as casual as if she was asking for the time.

I struggled against him as he used the chains to bind me, but I was still weak and he overcame me easily. Finally, he slipped the metal muzzle over my head, lifting me up and carrying me towards the carriage.

The carriage full of bound vampires, headed for the tomb.

**Please review….it motivates us to write faster :) **


	22. A Memory

**A/N: Thanks for the incredible number of reviews everyone! We're STILL in exam season, so sorry for the wait, but we hope this chapter is worth it. Please let us know what you think! **

**1864  
Elena POV**

Fear brought back part of my strength, but no matter how hard I kicked and struggled, it was futile. The guard unceremoniously dumped me into the carriage. The metal muzzle drowned out my groan as I landed painfully on my wrist. As I attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to struggle to my feet, the doors slammed behind me. A second later, I heard the sound of a key turning. I was locked in.

My heart was pounding so hard that it felt like my chest would burst. Fear clouded my brain, making me feel woozy. I squeezed my eyes tight shut, praying that this was all a dream, that I'd wake up in my own bed any minute, but to no avail. For a second, I thought I might pass out, as white dots flickered across the back of my eyelids for the second time in a ten minute period. Then a clinking sound next to me brought me back.

Plucking up my courage, I opened my eyes. The sight that met them was horrifying – possibly worse than anything else I'd even seen. I'd known this would happen, but the reality still shocked me, sending icy shards of terror through me. How on earth was I ever going to get out of this one?

Vampires. Six or seven, although I couldn't make myself count. All bound and muzzled, just as I was. They were – thankfully - still unconscious, knocked out by vervain, I guessed. It was too dark to see clearly, but I thought I vaguely recognised a few of them from when I'd helped rescue Stefan in 2010. Remembering what they'd done to him did nothing to calm me down.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. Damon would come. He would. I had to believe that. He would figure out where I was and find a way, so all I had to do was wait. Wait and stay alive.

The clinking noise came again, making me start, then gasp as the movement caused the muzzle to cut into my cheek. The pain was driven out of my head a second later, however, by a jolt of horror that coursed through me. The vampire nearest to me was awake. I could see flickers of light reflected in his eyes.

The chains binding his hands clinked again as he shook them slightly, attempting to reach towards me, although he was clearly still weak and couldn't move far.

'No,' I whispered hoarsely, realising suddenly what he was after. Blood from my healed gunshot wound had soaked through the front of my dress, the angry red stain spreading across most of my stomach. The metal muzzle had cut into the corner of my mouth, and I could feel a trickle of blood running down my cheek. At this distance, the smell had to be overwhelming him.

I rolled over onto my side, gritting my teeth as my own chain dug into my side. Kicking my feet, I managed to shuffle backwards until my back hit the wall of the carriage, putting about a foot of space between me and the vampire.

A new thought hit me, and I recoiled in horror, pressing myself against the carriage wall. I knew that if I died tonight, I would turn into a vampire. What hadn't occurred to me was what that could mean.

I was in a carriage headed for the church. Did that mean I would become one of the vampires stranded in the tomb? Shivers passed across every inch of my skin. It wouldn't come to that. Damon would come. He had to.

However, another thought followed this one quickly. The tomb spell had come into effect because Damon had begged Emily to keep Katherine safe. He definitely wasn't going to do that tonight. Did that mean there would never be a tomb? That the vampires would burn in the Church, with me amongst them?

The vampire – a man I didn't recognise – shook his hands again, the chains jangling loudly as he tried to reach for me, effectively pulling me out of my thoughts. Luckily, it seemed as if I was more loosely bound than most of the vampires in the carriage, most of whom looked as if they were unable to move even an inch.

Suddenly, the entire carriage gave a jolt, almost throwing me away me from the wall, then started moving, the characteristic sound of horses trotting penetrating through the walls. I pushed away the fear knotting my stomach. There was still time.

* * *

The journey can't have taken more than ten minutes, but they were the worst ten minutes of my life. Bracing myself against the carriage wall, as far as way from the other inhabitants as possible, I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed.

When the doors of the carriage were finally, _finally_ unlocked, the wall I'd been bracing myself against gave way and I tumbled straight out of the carriage, landing painfully on the grass. Almost immediately, a pair of strong arms lifted me, carrying me away from the carriage. My first instinct was to struggle, but then -

'I'll take he-it,' a familiar voice called out. 'You go and help the others.'

Relief washed over me as I felt Damon take me from the man carrying me, relief so powerful that I actually started shaking.

'Hold on, Elena, I'll get you free in a minute.' His whisper was so quiet I almost didn't hear it. I gave a slight nod of acknowledgement, unable to speak through the muzzle.

Damon waited until the other man was a safe distance away, then quickly dropped to the ground, gently putting me down and pulling off the metal muzzle.

'Damon!' I gasped the second it was off, as he pulled a ring of keys from his pocket and started to work on the chains. 'How did you find me?'

'I convinced my father I wanted to help fight the vampires, that I was angry with you and Katherine for manipulating me,' he said grimly, pulling the chains off me and dumping them on the ground. 'I went straight to Emily for help – you said she's a witch. Can you walk?'

He took my arm, pulling me gently to my feet and towards the woods.

'I think so,' I said, taking a tentative step forward. My wrists ached where the chains had dug in and my legs were stiff, but apart from that I seemed to be OK. 'Where are we going?'

'To a quarry just outside town,' Damon replied. 'Emily's going to meet us there.'

He waited until we were a safe distance from the carriage, under cover of the trees, before he continued his story.

'We went back, but you were gone, even though Stefan was still there.' I saw the pain on his face when he mentioned his brother. 'The carriage had left. Emily said that you might be in it…that there was a chance that Katherine had managed to get you captured instead of her. Once I realised where you might be heading, I begged her to do anything she could to protect you. Anything.'

I swallowed, hard. I had a horrible feeling I knew where this was going.

'What did she do?' I asked, unable to stop myself. I had to know. Had to know if my presence here had been what actually caused the tomb spell.

'She sent me to the church to try and get you out,' Damon said, his voice slowing as he, too, realised, what he'd done. 'She said that even if I failed, she'd make sure we could meet in the future….she asked me to promise to protect her descendents in return….'

I groaned. 'She cast the tomb spell, Damon. Those vampires are going to have to spend 145 years in agony because of us. And Stefan…' If it hadn't been for me, Damon would have helped his brother, and they might have been able to get Katherine away before Giuseppe arrived. The thought made me feel sick.

'We're here,' Damon said, cutting me off and avoiding my eyes as he indicated a crude wooden hut next to the quarry. 'Emily said she'd try and get the watch for you and meet us here.'

'She's getting the watch?' I perked up momentarily at this, having, incredibly, somehow forgotten about that aspect of our plan.

Damon smiled ruefully. 'She's going to try. We decided she had a better chance than I did. I may have convinced Father that I'm on the Council's side, but I doubt Jonathan Gilbert would let me anywhere near him.'

'Good point,' I conceded, sinking onto a bench inside the hut. Now that we were fairly safe, away from the chaos of the town, I was able to think clearly for the first time in a while. It was possible that I'd be going home tonight, soon even. Part of me couldn't wait – I'd missed my family and friends desperately. On the other hand, it hadn't escaped my notice that thought I'd failed to prevent Stefan's death and the casting of the tomb spell, Damon stood in front of me, still human. If I went back now, would I never see him again? The thought cut like a knife.

Just then, something else occurred to me. 'Damon, you said that Emily would arrange a way for us to meet in the future...but…you're still human. How…?' A part of me already knew the answer, but I wanted to hear it from him.

'I would have turned, Elena.' Damon looked straight at me, unashamed. 'Katherine's blood is still in my system. If I hadn't been able to save you…I knew you wouldn't last in the tomb, not with all those vampires. You would have turned too….it was part of my deal with Emily. That I would protect her family, in the future.'

I just stared at him, speechless, unable to believe the extent to which he would go for me. 'Damon…thank you…'

The words were woefully inadequate, and I knew it, but I had no words to describe the well of emotion filling me.

'Elena…' Damon said hesitatingly. He'd dropped onto a bench opposite me, his eyes fixed on mine.

I said nothing, but simply held his gaze, waiting.

'About what you said earlier,' he said slowly, 'about us causing those vampires to be in the tomb for 145 years….I just want to say, Elena, that…if I had the choice, I'd do it again. If it was the only way to save you, I'd do it again. Even though…even though it may have hurt Stefan. Elena….I love you.'

I said nothing, only climbing to me feet and stepping forwards to kissed him gently. He let out a low moan, rising to his feet to join me and wrapping his arms around my back, pulling me close and deepening the kiss. My hands slid under his shirt, running over his stomach and chest as his hand slid slowly down my back, below my waist.

A discrete cough from behind us pulled us apart, and we turned to see Emily, and a boy a little younger than her whose resemblance to her clearly marked him as her brother. Between them, they carried Stefan's motionless body, the sight of which still cut me deeply.

'Thank you. You should go.' Emily said quietly to her brother after they'd laid Stefan gently on one of the benches.

He nodded, then ran off, after shooting Damon and I one distrustful, suspicious gaze.

'Emily,' Damon said, releasing me and stepping towards her. 'Did you get…?'

She held up the pocket watch, silencing him. 'I see you managed to get her out.'

Damon looked at me, a smile lighting his face. 'I did,' he said, the relief evident in his voice. 'I think it's time we send her home.'

He reached out for the watch. Emily stepped up to give it to him, when -

_Crack._

Emily jumped backwards, the look on her face one of pure terror. I spun around, the sight before me confirming my worst fears as an involuntary scream escaped my throat. Damon had crumpled to the ground, his neck obviously broken. And Katherine stood behind me, her patented grin spread across her face. Once hand was clamped down on the shoulder of Emily's brother, who looked utterly terrified. I dropped down beside Damon, squeezing his hand tightly as I tried to hold back the tears that had automatically filled me eyes.

'Don't look at me like that, cousin.' Her voice was almost cheerful. 'It's not like he's going to stay dead, after all.'

I had never wanted to harm anyone so much in my life. Only Emily's warning hand on my back as I rose to my feet prevented me from closing my fingers around my doppelgangers neck. I clenched them into the fists, gritting my teeth. It took every ounce of strength I had to prevent myself from flying at Katherine. Pure fury coursed through me, and I welcomed it, knowing that it would temporarily block out the pain that threatened to overwhelm me.

'So you managed to get out.' She looked at me disdainfully, then turned to Emily, her voice cold as ice. 'I would have expected better from you, Emily.' Her fingers tightened visibly on the boy's shoulder.

'Let him go, Katherine.' Emily's voice was steady, but I could hear the fear in it nonetheless. 'He has nothing to do with any of this.'

Katherine gave a short laugh. 'Oh, I'll let him go. But first, you're going to do something for me.'

There was pure venom in her eyes as she turned to me.

'You thought you'd won, didn't you, Elena? Going to the ball with Damon, turning him against me, trying to stop Stefan from freeing me.' She leaned in, her face only a few inches from mine. 'You didn't. I will always win, Elena. Always. Damon refused to follow my instructions. And for that, he will be punished.'

She indicated Damon, lying crumpled on the floor, and Stefan, stretched out on one of the benches. 'They cannot be allowed to remember her.' Her face hardened as she looked at Damon, and I involuntarily flinched. 'Especially Damon.'

She turned to Emily then. 'You will cast a spell on them so that when they wake up, they have no recollection of Elena, only me. Everything that Damon did with her, he'll remember having done with me. He'll remember begging you to help save me, not her. Got it?'

Once again, she tightened her grip on the boy's shoulder. Emily's eyes flickered briefly over my face, and she opened her mouth.

Sensing Emily's hesitation, Katherine, in a gesture now sickeningly familiar to me, opened a vein in her wrist and shoved it into the boy's mouth. His eyes widened in terror as she tried to resist, but Katherine simply pushed it further in, forcing him him to swallow the blood.

'Do it, or I'll kill him,' she said softly, staring directly at Emily, who shot me an apologetic glance before nodding, defeated.

Katherine looked at me, pointing to Damon's body. 'Move him, so that he's lying next to his brother,' she ordered.

Glaring at her, I took him under the arms, trying not to think about what I was actually doing. Trying not to think about what I had caused. Emily stepped forward to help me, and the two of us dragged Damon over to Stefan and laid him down.

'Elena, wait over there.' Katherine pointed into a corner. 'Do not move, or I will make you regret it.'

* * *

I stood there, powerless, unable to do anything, as Emily chanted something in the strange, old-fashioned language that Bonnie had used to open the tomb, waving her hands above the bodies of the Salvatore brothers. I'd been unable to save them. Unable to save anyone. In fact, my presence here had arguably only served to cause this series of events. All of this – the turning of the Salvatore brothers, the 145 years they'd spend hating each other – was my fault.

And it looked like I'd never get to apologise to them.

Emily stepped back from the bodies, a look of disgust on her face. I wasn't angry with her, despite what she was doing. She was under Katherine's thumb as much as I was, and she clearly hated what she was doing.

'Say what you want them to remember,' she said to Katherine, her voice full of a combination of anger and hatred.

Katherine stepped up to the brothers, no longer smiling. She gently took Stefan's hand, and once again, I had to stop myself from hitting her.

'You won't remember anything about Elena Pierce,' she said silkily. 'You will both remember loving me, and me alone.' She turned to Damon, addressing him alone. 'And you will continue to love me, and to try and save me from the tomb.'

She went on, removing the memories of everything we'd done together from Damon's head, making him forget the Founder's Ball, our kiss there, our entire relationship, everything he'd done for me tonight….and everything he'd said before Emily showed up. Regret filled me as I realised I'd never had a chance to reply to him when he'd said he loved me. Had never had a chance to say it back.

Because, I realised, I would have said it back. Somehow, incredibly, even though I was meant to be with Stefan, to love Stefan, I would have said it back. What Damon had done for me over the past month, everything we'd been through together….it all stood out as my single happy experience of being in this time. The memories were etched into my brain, and I knew that I, at least, would never forget them.

Katherine stepped back, apparently satisfied with her work. 'Now,' she said, turning to me, 'all that remains is how to deal with you.'

I faced her down, trying not to flinch. She was probably going to kill me, but somehow, I couldn't find it in me to care anymore. She'd won. She had won the second she snapped Damon's neck.

'I can't kill you,' she mused, surprising me. 'The last thing I need is you to wake up with them as a vampire.'

I almost smiled at that. Ironic that the presence of Katherine's own blood in my system was foiling her plans.

Katherine's eyes fell on the watch in Emily's hand. 'Send her back to her own time,' she commanded. 'Who knows what damage she'd do if she tried to remain here.'

Relief as strong as I'd ever felt coursed through my body as the reality of Katherine's words hit me. I was going home. Finally. And when I got there…both the Salvatore brothers would be waiting. Despite the fact that I'd spent a month trying to save their human lives, this thought made me incredibly happy.

Emily put the watch into my hand. 'Go, Elena. You know how it works.' As I took it from her, her fingers closed briefly over mine, squeezing my hand. Curious, I looked up. Our eyes locked as I took the watch from her hand.

Emily was standing with her back to Katherine, a look of deep concentration on her face, her lips moving soundlessly, as if to articulate a spell. She looked exhausted – clearly the memory spell had taken a lot out of her.

Incredibly curious, but not wanting to make Katherine suspicious, I started to set the hands of the watch to the time I'd long ago worked out, and started turning the dial forwards, counting carefully. And that's when the message came.

I heard Emily's voice in my head, as clearly as if she'd spoken aloud.

'_Another witch can reverse my memory spell. I'm sorry for everything. Good luck, Elena.' _

Immediately, a whole new host of thoughts crammed themselves into my head. The spell could be reversed? Bonnie could do it….Stefan and Damon would be able to remember what had really happened….

I pushed the thoughts away, concentrating on the count, giving Emily a faint smile and tiny nod to show I'd gotten the message. She smiled back, relaxing slightly. And then the familiar high pitched noise came from the watch, and my vision started to blur. The pocket watch slipped from my fingers as everything went black.

Her face was the last thing I saw in 1864.

**Please review! Don't worry, the story's not over – next up, we're rejoining 2010! **


	23. The Return

**A/N: OK, once again, we are so, so sorry. First it was exam season and then there were holidays for both of us and then results stress and summer jobs and family stuff and results themselves and just life really. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, we're so sorry to have kept you waiting but we hope you'll read this chapter anyway. There's probably only going to be one more chapter before this story is finished, and although we're both going off to university in the next few weeks, we are hopeful we can get it written by then. Every review means so much to us, and we really didn't mean to leave you hanging. We hope you enjoy this chapter and continue to tell us what you think :)**

**Disclaimer: Not ours. **

**2010**

**Elena POV**

It was over as quickly as it had started. My vision cleared, and the buzzing noise ceased, allowing me to think clearly again. The first thing I saw was Damon's face, only a few feet in front of me, slowly coming into focus as I shook my head to rid it of the last few effects of my trip though time.

As soon as I saw him, I acted instinctively, not stopping to consider the consequences, not even thinking about Stefan. I flung myself across the kitchen and into Damon's arms.

He squeezed me tightly, burying his face in my hair, and I closed my eyes, allowing myself to relax completely for the first time in days. I hadn't succeeded in my task. I hadn't managed to save his human life. But here, standing in my own kitchen with his arms wrapped tightly around me, that didn't seem to matter. He was alive, and we were together, and nothing else mattered.

'What happened to you? Where did you go?' Damon asked, his lips moving against the top of my head. I prepared to answer him, bracing myself to tell the whole story, when the sound of a familiar cough reminded me of where - and _when_ - I was.

Damon and I immediately broke apart, and, blushing furiously, I turned to face his brother. Stefan. My boyfriend. Whom I hadn't even noticed in my rush to get to Damon. I hugged him too, pressing my face tightly against him in an attempt to hide my embarrassment.

'I was so worried,' Stefan whispered as he pulled me closer, making my heart contract in guilt as I realised fully, perhaps for the first time, the extent of what I'd done. In 1864, alone and far away from the boyfriend loved, it had been easier to ignore what I was doing. But now, now that I was home and safe, I couldn't ignore it anymore.

I'd cheated. And to make things worse, I'd cheated on my boyfriend with his brother. Guilt shot through me, making me feel nauseous. How was I ever going to explain this to Stefan? And Damon? He'd feel so used...

Heart pounding, I pulled myself out of Stefan's arms, turning to face Ric and John, who were sitting at the kitchen table. Too miserable to even wonder what on earth John was doing here, I quickly hugged them both - John's eyes widened in surprise - and turned back to Damon.

'You asked where I went, Damon,' I said quietly. '1864. I was stuck there for a month before I managed to get home.'

The effect of this statement was instantaneous. Both Stefan and Damon opened their mouths, shock and fury obvious on their faces, and Alaric jumped out of his chair.

I held up a hand to stop them. There was no way I'd be able to tell this story without breaking down if they all started to interrupt me.

'Please. Just let me speak. I'll tell you what happened.' I said, and something in my voice made Stefan, Alaric and John back off. Damon, however, didn't.

'Elena,' he said, indicating my dress, his eyes full of concern - more concern, I realised, than 2010 Damon had ever shown for me before. 'What happened can wait. You're injured.'

Instinctively, I reached up to cup the cut the metal muzzle had caused on my face. What with everything that had happened in the past few hours, I'd forgotten all about it.

I'd also forgotten, I realised, looking down, about huge bloodstain spread across the front of my dress, caused by the gunshot wound Katherine had healed.

'That's nothing...don't worry...it's healed...' I stuttered, trying to explain, but thinking of the wound brought back memories of the pain, of the sheer terror I'd felt when Katherine had had me thrown in the carriage. My entire body started shaking uncontrollably, my vision sliding in and out of focus for the second time that night.

'Elena!' Two voices shouted at once, and then they rushed at me, both trying to hold me up. Damon reached me a split second before his brother, catching me just as my legs gave out. He lifted me off the ground, inevitably reminding me of how he'd rescued me from the carriage.

'Let's get you cleaned up,' he said, heading for the stairs. 'You can tell us your story afterwards.'

'Damon...' The threatening note in Stefan's voice was obvious.

'I've got her, Stefan.' Damon said firmly. 'Why don't you go...deal with that other problem?'

Stefan, to my surprise, nodded and backed off, although he still looked grim. Too tired to even wonder what the 'other problem' was, I focused instead on keeping my eyes open. Now that I was no longer in danger, I was realising just how exhausted the events of the past twenty four hours had left me.

Damon carried me all the way up to my room, gently depositing me on the bed. 'Why don't you take a shower?' he suggested, his voice warm and soothing.

Nodding blearily, I pulled myself to my feet.

'Elena? What's all the shouting about?' came a familiar voice from the hallway.

Jeremy. My little brother. The mere sound of his voice seemed to send an electric shock through me, pumping adrenaline through my veins. How long had it been since I'd seen him? All tiredness forgotten, I leapt off the bed, and for the second time in ten minutes flung myself into the room and into someone's arms.

Jeremy started as I wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face in his shoulders. Relief coursed through me as I realised, perhaps for the first time since I'd returned, that I was _home. _Really and truly home. With my family, and my friends…now that I was back, the full force of how much I'd missed them, how much I'd missed everything, hit me, causing my entire body to tremble as my insides to turned to jelly.

'Elena? Is something wrong?' I could hear the concern in Jeremy's voice as he put his hands on my shoulders, pushing me away from him so that he could see my face. I stared up into his eyes, drinking in his every feature. I could see his emotions battle it out on his face – the worry that something had happened to me against the anger he still nursed from reading my journal.

'Everything's fine, Jer, I just…' I stopped, taking a deep breath. I'd been about to lie to him, to say that nothing bad whatsoever had happened. What was wrong with me? I'd lied to him before, and he was still angry with me about it. If I lied again and he ever found out, it could completely ruin our relationship.

Jeremy's eyes left my face, flickering downwards over my bloodstained dress. 'Are you hurt? Why are you dressed like that?' he demanded, and this time I could hear the fear in his voice.

Damon stepped up behind me, laying a gentle hand on my shoulder. 'Elena, why don't you go and take that shower? I'll tell Jeremy what's been going on.'

I nodded, grateful for the chance to be able to shower and change – finally – back into my normal clothing.

'Thanks, Damon.' I turned my attention briefly back to my brother. 'Jer, I promise I'm fine. Go downstairs with Damon. I'll be there in a few minutes.'

Jeremy hesitated, but something in my voice must have convinced him, because he released my shoulders and followed Damon downstairs without another word.

* * *

Five minutes later, standing in the shower, the scalding hot water to massaging my back, I decided I had never before been so filled with appreciation as I was at that moment.

A hot shower. A real shower. After a month of only being able to wash in a tub filled by buckets of lukewarm water that all had to be carried in by servants, I was in heaven. I stayed in there, simply allowing the water to wash over my skin, allowing it to clean away all the dirt and blood that seemed to have been clinging to me forever, for a good ten minutes before I even reached for the soap.

My newfound appreciation for my life in 2010 didn't end with the shower. After drying off, I realised with a rush of happiness, that I was going to be able to dress in jeans. _Jeans. _No more dresses that were so long I was constantly tripping over the hem. No more ridiculous layers of undergarments. And above all, no more corsets.

* * *

My good mood lasted until approximately five seconds after I returned to the kitchen. I'd heard voices as I came down the stairs, but they cut off abruptly as I entered the room. Alaric and John were still seated at the table, in exactly the same seats they'd been in when I'd gone upstairs. Jeremy, too, was seated at the table, and his expression clearly said that he wasn't happy about not being told immediately when I'd disappeared.

Damon, loitering almost casually against one of the counters, straightened up as I came in. 'Feeling better, Elena?'

I smiled at him, opening my mouth to reply, but stopped short when my heart did the same somersault in my chest that it had done every time I'd seen him over the past few weeks. I was back now, I told myself. Back in 2010. In 2010, I dated Stefan, and was nothing more than friends with his brother. In 2010, I loved Stefan. And somehow, I had to go back to that. Had to seal away my feelings for Damon. Had to come to terms with the fact that this Damon wasn't the person I'd been with for the past few weeks. That Damon was gone. And I'd never see him again.

Without warning, tears filled my eyes and I stumbled slightly, reaching out for something, anything, to grip to keep my balance.

'Elena?' Two voices asked simultaneously. A split second later, Damon was there, holding me up, one hand stroking my back. Just as it had been on the night of the Founder's Ball. A mere few seconds before our first kiss.

I pulled myself together, pushing away the memories that were assaulting me, threatening to push me under. The memories that his touch had evoked. 'I'm fine, Damon, thank you.' Thankfully, my voice was steady.

Despite my efforts to pull away, Damon helped me drop into Jeremy's chair, which Jeremy had vacated at the sight of my distress, then turned towards the door. The expression on his face indicated that he was listening intently, probably to something no-one else could hear.

Sure enough, a split second later, the front door opened and Stefan crashed in, zooming to my side as soon as he saw me. 'Elena! You look better.' I could hear the sincere relief in his voice, and the guilt returned, tearing apart my insides.

His laid his hand on my shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze before turning to Ric and John. 'I've dealt with our…other problem, for the moment.'

'Excuse me, Stefan,' I interrupted, my voice colder than I intended it to be. 'But what exactly is this 'other problem' everyone keeps mentioning?'

Stefan shot me a puzzled look, probably confused by my tone. Great. One more thing to feel guilty about. I sighed internally. Not only was I having trouble separating the memory of 1864 Damon from 2010 Damon, I kept thinking of Stefan as Katherine's accomplice. Someone who was trying to hurt me. Not someone to be trusted.

Suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to go to sleep in my own bed. To be alone for a while so that I could sort out my feelings. Reconcile myself to being back.

And yes, mourn for what I had lost.

Sadly, though, I knew there was no way I could do that at this particular moment. Firstly, I needed someone to fill me in on what was going on. And secondly, everyone in this kitchen deserved an explanation.

'Nothing for you to worry about for the moment, Elena,' Stefan started, but Damon interrupted him a split second before I would have.

'We need to tell her, Stefan. She deserves to know.' His voice was soft, but deadly serious. A shiver ran down my spine. What on earth was going on?

'Not today, Damon.' Stefan's voice was equally serious as he faced up to his brother. 'Elena's been through enough today, she needs rest. We can deal with this tomorrow.'

Annoyance rose in me – they were talking about me as if I wasn't there, and I did not appreciate it.

'Damon's right,' I said, rising from my chair. 'I want to know now. Especially if it involves me.'

Stefan turned to me, the pain evident on his face. I felt myself start to cave, but pushed the feelings away. I knew he wanted to protect me, and I was grateful for that, but I couldn't allow him to hide something that could be potentially important from me. And I had the feeling that whatever was going on was really important.

Before his brother could speak, Damon interjected bluntly, with only the barest hints of hesitation. 'Elena. Earlier this evening, your…birth mother showed up in town.'

Being hit by a sledgehammer was the closest I could come to describing the feeling that assaulted me. Whatever I'd been expecting them to say, it wasn't that.

'Isobel?' was all I could manage to croak as I dropped back into the chair. '_Here?_' My exhausted brain ground back into action. This could not be good news.

'Yes, here,' said Stefan gently, shooting his brother a furious look. 'She wants to meet you, but I saw her just now and convinced her to wait until tomorrow. I thought it might be better if you _didn't_ have to deal with this tonight.' He shot a second glare at Damon as he finished speaking, and I felt obliged to speak up.

'It's OK, Stefan, really,' I said wearily. 'I'm glad Damon told me. It's good that I know what's going on.'

'She's right, Stefan.' Alaric spoke up quietly. 'It wouldn't have been any easier for her to hear the news tomorrow.'

Too mentally and physically exhausted to deal with more than one thing at once, I pushed this latest development, disturbing as it was, to the back of my mind. For the moment, I had another task to focus one. I nodded gratefully at Alaric, then turned my attention back to the Salvatore brothers.

'I think it's time I told you the full story.'

* * *

This time no one objected, and for the next half an hour, I talked. My voice growing hoarser and hoarser, I told them everything, from the beginning. How Emily had helped me. How we'd told everyone I was Katherine's cousin. And then, the full story of my involvement with the Council, right up until that fateful night when the massacre had taken place.

Damon telling me about my mother had reminded me of how honest we'd been with each other, in 1864. And how much that honesty had meant to me. With this in mind, I was as truthful as I could possibly be, not even eliminating the parts about how Stefan had been on Katherine's side, under her compulsion, even though I knew that hearing that would hurt him.

I missed out only one aspect of the story. How the friendship between myself and Damon had grown into something more. My voice caught in my throat as I remembered how he'd kissed me at the Founder's Ball. The night we'd spent together after the break-in. How, he'd told me he'd loved me when we'd been in the woods, after he'd rescued me from Katherine. As much as I wanted to be honest, I couldn't bring myself to tell any of that either of the brothers, especially in front of Ric, John and Jeremy. After all, I'd betrayed both of them, in a way, I thought, remembering the look on Damon's face when I told him I was in a relationship with his brother in 2010. A look that had broken my heart.

'So that's why we don't remember any of this,' Stefan said thoughtfully as I finished the story. 'The spell Emily used.'

Damon said nothing, simply staring at me with the same intense gaze that had become familiar to me recently. His eyes felt like they were boring straight into me. Unable to shake the feeling that he knew I was omitting something important, I dropped my gaze, breaking eye contact.

There was one other thing I hadn't mentioned to them. Emily's parting words, the message she'd sent me, about how I could get the brothers to remember. Bonnie could break the spell, I was sure of it. The question was, what would happen if she did? Could I bear to hurt Stefan that badly? And what would Damon feel if he knew what had really passed between us? I knew that I should probably tell them some time. They deserved to know the truth. But I didn't feel like I had the energy for that conversation tonight.

Damon's voice jolted me out of my thoughts.

'I bet,' he said in a slow drawl that made me instantly feel that no good could come from this, 'that another witch, one of Emily's descendents, say, could break that memory charm that's been place on both of us.' He shot a quick look at his brother, and then his gaze was back on me, the intensity of it making me feel physically uncomfortable. 'I don't know about you, Stefan, but I'd like to get my real memories back.'

Stefan had visibly brightened at this. 'Elena? Why don't you call Bonnie and see if she can come over?'

'_Now?_' I gasped, completely taken aback. I couldn't do this now. I wasn't ready. I needed time. To figure out what I was going to do when they found out the full story. To figure out how the hell I felt about both of them. That was all I needed. Just more time.

'Why not?' Damon asked in that same cool voice. He knew something was up. I was sure of it. He lifted his arm, indicating his watch. 'It's not actually that late, you know. And it's not like we'll be able to deal with this tomorrow, since we've got Isobel to worry about. Besides, don't you want to see her?'

He had me there. It had been a month since I'd seen Bonnie. My best friend. I'd missed her almost as much as Jeremy. I did want to see her. But if she came over, then the Salvatores would expect her to break the spell…my head started to spin as I frantically tried to figure out what the best thing to do was.

'Yes,' I managed to get out. 'I do want to see her. I'll call her.'

I patted down my pockets before realising my cell phone wasn't in any of them. I almost laughed as I realised how long it had been since I'd used it. Of course it wouldn't be in my pockets.

'You left your phone in the car, Elena,' Stefan said, noticing my actions. 'It's probably still in there.' He laid a hand on my arm. 'I'll go to Bonnie's. That way I can tell her what's happened on the way here, plus it'll be safer. We don't know what could happen, what will Isobel in town.'

'Thanks, Stefan.' I smiled weakly. There was always the possibility that Bonnie wouldn't be able to break the spell tonight, I told myself. Maybe she'd need to do some research, or look through Emily's grimoire. That would give me some time to warn Stefan and Damon, to prepare them for what was coming.

No one said anything after Stefan left. I could tell that they were all still processing my story. Jeremy, who hadn't said a word since I'd started speaking, reached over the table briefly to squeeze my hand. Somehow, that simple gesture conveyed everything – his relief that I was safe, along with his forgiveness. More relieved than I could say that we were no longer fighting, I blinked back tears as I smiled at him. Alaric and John began discussing something to do with Jonathan Gilbert and his inventions, but I tuned it out, too consumed with my inner turmoil to pay attention.

After fifteen minutes of watching Damon pace up and down the kitchen, I'd come to a decision, of sorts. There was a chance Bonnie would be able to break the spell when she arrived. And if that happened, surely telling one Salvatore brother the truth was better than telling neither of them.

Plucking up all my courage, I stood up. 'Damon, can I talk to you for a second? In the hall?'

Looking unsurprised, he merely nodded, and led the way into the hall. Detaching my hand from Jeremy's, I followed, being sure to close the kitchen door behind me.

I wasted no time once we were out of the kitchen. I was afraid that if I stalled, I'd chicken out.

'Damon, I wasn't completely honest with you before.' I said, forcing myself to get the words out. To just tell him. 'I mean, I was when I was telling you what happened to me, but…I missed out some things.'

Damon leaned slightly closer, his eyes looking directly into mine. My breath caught in my throat. He had me cornered against the wall, with no way to increase the distance between us. Which I wasn't even sure I wanted to do.

'What did you miss out, Elena?' he breathed, without breaking eye contact.

'I wasn't entirely honest about…about you and me.' My voice was so quiet, I could barely hear it.

His eyes widened, but before I could carry on, before he could respond, the front door opened, revealing a triumphant looking Stefan and Bonnie.

'Bonnie says she can do it, Elena. She can break the spell!' Stefan's voice trailed off as he took in the situation. My heart sank like a stone in my chest.

**Hope it's been worth the wait! Please, please review, even if it's just to rant at us for leaving you in suspense for that long…:)**


End file.
